\ 


THE  LAUNCHING  OF  A  UNIVERSITY 


THE  LAUNCHING 
OF  A  UNIVERSITY 

AND  OTHER  PAPERS 

A  SHEAF  OF  REMEMBRANCES 


BY 
DANIEL  COIT  OILMAN,  LL.D. 

PRESIDENT    EMERITUS 
OF  THE  JOHNS  HOPKINS  UNIVERSITY 


NEW   YORK 

DODD,  MEAD  &  COMPANY 
1906 


L. 


COPYRIGHT,  1906, 

BY 
DODD,  MEAD  &  COMPANY 


Published  January  1906 


In  grateful  recognition  of  the  encour- 
agement of  JAMES  B.  ANGELL, 
CHARLESW.ELIOTandANDREW 
D.  WHITE,  and  of  the  long  continued 
cooperation  of  BASIL  L.  GILDER- 
SLEEVE  and  IRA  REMSEN. 


162287 


PREFACE 


IT  has  been  my  good  fortune  to  be  often  invited,  in  different  parts 
of  the  country,  to  deliver  addresses  on  important  occasions,  most 
of  them  historical  and  educational.  Those  which  have  been 
printed  in  pamphlet  form  are  now  lost  to  sight  almost  as  complete- 
ly as  those  which  rest  in  manuscript  destined  to  the  fire.  Conse- 
quently the  following  pages  have  been  brought  together  in  the  hope 
that  by  their  perusal  some  of  my  colleagues  and  friends,  and  espe- 
cially those  whom  I  have  known  as  students,  will  find  that  pleasant 
reminiscences  are  awakened. 

The  first  three  articles  were  contributed  to  Scribner's  Magazine 
and  are  included  in  this  volume  by  the  kind  permission  of  the  pub- 
lishers, Messrs.  Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  and  the  editor,  Mr.  E.  L. 
Burlingame  ;  and  one  of  the  articles  printed  in  the  Century  Mag- 
azine is  likewise  reprinted  by  the  kind  permission  of  the  publishers. 
I  have  not  hesitated,  now  and  then,  to  enlarge  these  papers,  and  I 
have  added  some  articles  hitherto  unpublished. 

Nothing  is  here  included  which  appeared  in  an  earlier  volume, 
entitled  University  Problems. 

BALTIMORE,  December,  1905. 


CONTENTS 

THE   JOHNS  HOPKINS  UNIVERSITY 

I    REMINISCENCES   OF   THIRTY    YEARS   IN    BALTIMORE 

(1875-1905) 3 

II    JOHNS  HOPKINS  AND  THE  TRUSTEES  OF  His  CHOICE  ...  27 

III  FUNDAMENTAL  PRINCIPLES 41 

IV  THE  ORIGINAL  FACULTY        47 

V    SOME  NOTEWORTHY  TEACHERS       59 

VI    INCIDENTS  OF  THE  EARLY  YEARS 89 

VII    PUBLICATIONS 115 

VIII    THE  JOHNS  HOPKINS  MEDICAL  SCHOOL 121 

IX    RESIGNATION;  AFTER  TWENTY-FIVE  YEARS'  SERVICE  127 

ADDRESSES    ON    VARIOUS    OCCASIONS, 
HISTORICAL  AND  EDUCATIONAL 

X    REMEMBRANCES;   LOOKING    BACKWARDS    OVER    FIFTY 

YEARS          145 

XI    THE  RELATIONS  OF  YALE  TO  SCIENCE  AND  LETTERS 

(1701-1901)         161 

XII    BOOKS  AND  POLITICS     195 

-  XIII    CALIFORNIA  REVISITED           223 

XIV    RESEARCH — A  SPEECH  AT  CHICAGO          t 237 

'  XV    THE  DAWN  OF  A  UNIVERSITY  IN  THE  WESTERN  RESERVE  255 

XVI    HAND-CRAFT  AND  REDE-CRAFT       281 

XVII    DEJUVENTUTE       297 

XVIII    GREEK  ART  IN  A  MANUFACTURING  TOWN     319 

•  XIX    A  STUDY  IN  BLACK  AND  WHITE 329 

XX    CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM           341 

XXI    EDUCATION  IN  PHILANTHROPY 359 

XXII    COLONEL  JOHN  EAGER  HOWARD — ONE  OF  THE  WOR- 
THIES OF  BALTIMORE          363 


REMINISCENCES  OF  THIRTY  YEARS 
IN  BALTIMORE— 1875-1905 


The  Launching  of  a  University 


REMINISCENCES  OF  THIRTY  YEARS  IN  BALTIMORE 
1875-1905 

DURING  the  last  half  century  American  universities  have 
grown  up  with  surprising  rapidity.  It  is  not  necessary  to  fix 
an  exact  date  for  the  beginning  of  this  progress.  Some 
would  like  to  say  that  the  foundation  of  the  Lawrence  Sci- 
entific School  in  Harvard  University,  and,  almost  simulta- 
neously, the  foundation  of  the  Sheffield  School  of  Science  in 
New  Haven  were  initial  undertakings.  These  events  indi- 
cated that  the  two  oldest  colleges  of  New  England  were 
ready  to  introduce  instruction  of  an  advanced  character,  far 
more  special  than  ever  before,  in  the  various  branches  of  nat- 
ural and  physical  science.  An  impulse  was  given  by  the  pas- 
sage of  the  Morrill  Act,  by  which  a  large  amount  of  scrip, 
representing  public  lands,  was  offered  to  any  State  that  would 
maintain  a  college  devoted  to  agriculture  and  the  mechanic 
arts,  without  the  exclusion  of  other  scientific  and  literary 
studies.  The  foundation  of  Cornell  University  was  of  the 
highest  significance,  for  it  fortunately  came  under  the  guid- 
ance of  one  who  was  equally  devoted  to  historical  and  sci- 
entific research,  one  whose  plans  showed  an  independence  of 
thought  and  a  power  of  organisation  then  without  precedent 
in  the  field  of  higher  education.  The  changes  introduced 
in  Harvard,  under  masterful  leadership,  when  the  modern 
era  of  progress  began,  had  profound  influence.  The  subse- 


4        THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

quent  gifts  of  Johns  Hopkins,  of  Rockefeller,  of  Stanford, 
of  Tulane,  promoted  the  establishment  of  new  institutions, 
in  sympathy  with  the  older  colleges,  yet  freer  to  introduce 
new  subjects  and  new  methods.  The  State  universities  of 
the  Northwest  and  of  the  Pacific  coast,  as  population  and 
wealth  increased,  became  an  important  factor.  These  mul- 
tiform agencies  must  all  be  carefully  considered  when  an 
estimate  is  made  up  of  the  progress  of  the  last  half- 
century. 

I  was  a  close  observer  of  the  changes  which  were  intro- 
duced at  Yale  in  the  fifties  and  sixties,  the  grafting  of  a  new 
branch — "  a  wild  olive,"  as  it  seemed — upon  the  old  stock. 
Then  I  had  some  experience,  brief  but  significant,  in  Cali- 
fornia, as  the  head  of  the  State  University,  at  a  time  when  it 
was  needful  to  answer  the  popular  cry  that  it  should  become 
chiefly  a  school  of  agriculture,  and  when  it  was  important  to 
show  the  distinction  between  a  university  and  a  polytechnic 
institute.  Then  came  a  call  to  the  East  and  a  service  of 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  in  the  organisation  and  de- 
velopment of  a  new  establishment.  These  are  three  typical 
institutions.  Yale  was  a  colonial  foundation,  wedded  to 
precedents,  where  an  effort  was  made  to  introduce  new 
studies  and  new  methods.  California  was  a  State  institution, 
benefited  by  the  so-called  agricultural  grant,  where  it  was 
necessary  to  emphasise  the  importance  of  the  liberal  arts,  in  a 
community  where  the  practical  arts  were  sure  to  take  care 
of  themselves.  Baltimore  afforded  an  opportunity  to  develop 
a  private  endowment  free  from  ecclesiastical  or  political  con- 
trol, where  from  the  beginning  the  old  and  the  new,  the 
humanities  and  the  sciences,  theory  and  practice,  could  be 
generously  promoted. 

In  looking  over  this  period,  remarkable  changes  are  mani- 
fest. In  the  first  place,  science  receives  an  amount  of  support 
unknown  before.  This  is  a  natural  consequence  of  the  won- 
derful discoveries  which  have  been  made  in  respect  to  the 


RECENT   GROWTH   OF   UNIVERSITIES      5 

phenomena  and  laws  of  nature  and  the  improvements  made 
in  scientific  instruments  and  researches.  Educational  leaders 
perceived  the  importance  of  the  work  carried  on  in  labora- 
tories and  observatories  under  the  impulse  of  such  men  as 
Liebig  and  Faraday.  With  this  increased  attention  to 
science,  the  old-fashioned  curriculum  disappeared,  of  necessity, 
and  many  combinations  of  studies  were  permitted  in  the 
most  conservative  institutions.  Absolute  freedom  of  choice 
is  now  allowed  in  many  places.  Historical  and  political 
science  has  come  to  the  front,  and  it  is  no  longer  enough  to 
learn  from  a  text-book  wearisome  lists  of  names  and  dates; 
reference  must  be  made  to  original  sources  of  information, 
or,  at  any  rate,  many  books  must  be  consulted  in  order  to 
understand  the  progress  of  human  society.  Some  knowledge 
of  German  and  French  is  required  of  everyone.  English 
literature  receives  an  amount  of  attention  never  given  to  it 
in  early  days.  Medicine  is  no  longer  taught  by  lectures  only, 
but  the  better  schools  require  continued  practice  in  biological 
laboratories  and  the  subsequent  observation  of  patients  in 
hospitals  and  dispensaries.  The  admission  of  women  to  the 
advantages  of  higher  education  is  also  one  of  the  most  note- 
worthy advances  of  the  period  we  are  considering. 

The  historian  who  takes  up  these  and  allied  indications  of 
the  progress  of  American  universities  will  have  a  difficult 
and  an  inspiring  theme.  It  has  been  a  delightful  and  ex- 
hilarating time  in  which  to  live  and  to  work,  to  observe  and 
to  try.  All  the  obstacles  have  not  been  overcome,  some 
mistakes  have  been  made,  much  remains  for  improvement, 
but  on  the  whole  the  record  of  the  last  forty  or  fifty  years 
exhibits  substantial  and  satisfactory  gains.  The  efforts  of 
scholars  have  been  sustained  by  the  munificence  of  donors, 
and  more  than  one  institution  now  has  an  endowment  larger 
than  that  of  all  the  institutions  which  were  in  existence  in 
1850. 

In  the  middle  of  the  century  the  word  "  university  "  was 


6        THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

in  the  air.  It  was  cautiously  used  in  Cambridge  and  New 
Haven,  where  a  number  of  professional  schools  were  living 
vigorous  lives  near  the  parental  domicile,  then  called  "  the 
college  proper,"  as  if  the  junior  departments  were  colleges 
improper.  To  speak  of  "  our  university  "  savoured  of  pre- 
tence in  these  old  colleges.  A  story  was  told  at  Yale  that  a 
dignitary  from  a  distant  State  introduced  himself  as  chan- 
cellor of  the  university.  "  How  large  a  faculty  have  you?  " 
asked  Dominie  Day.  "  Not  any,"  was  the  answer.  "  Have 
you  any  library  or  buildings?  "  "  Not  yet,"  replied  the  vis- 
itor. "  Any  endowment?  "  "  None,"  came  the  monotonous 
and  saddening  negative.  "What  have  you?"  persisted  the 
Yale  president.  The  visitor  brightened  as  he  said,  "  We 
have  a  very  good  charter." 

Among  enlightened  and  well-read  people,  the  proper  sig- 
nificance of  a  university  was  of  course  understood.  Students 
came  home  from  Europe,  and  especially  from  Germany,  with 
clear  conceptions  of  its  scope.  Everett,  Bancroft,  Ticknor, 
Hedge,  Woolsey,  Thacher,  Whitney,  Child,  Gould,  Lane, 
Gildersleeve  and  others  were  familiar  with  the  courses  of 
illustrious  teachers  on  the  Continent.  European  scholars 
were  added  to  the  American  faculties — Follen,  Beck,  Lieber, 
Agassiz,  Guyot,  and  others  also  distinguished.  But  the 
American  colleges  had  been  based  on  the  idea  of  an  English 
college,  and  upon  this  central  nucleus  the  limited  funds  and 
the  unlimited  energies  of  the  times  were  concentrated,  not 
indeed  exclusively,  but  diligently.  Any  diversion  of  the  con- 
centrated resources  of  the  treasury  to  "  outside  "  interests, 
like  law,  medicine,  and  theology,  was  not  to  be  thought  of. 
Even  now,  one  hears  occasionally  the  question,  "  After  all, 
what  is  the  difference  between  a  university  and  a  college  ?  " 
To  certain  persons,  the  university  simply  means  the  best 
place  of  instruction  that  the  locality  can  secure.  The  coun- 
try is  full  of  praiseworthy  foundations  which  ought  to  be 
known  as  high-schools  or  academies  or  possibly  as  colleges, 


MISUSE   OF  WORD   UNIVERSITY  7 

but  which  appear  to  great  disadvantage  under  the  more  pre- 
tentious name  they  have  assumed.  Just  after  the  war  the 
enthusiastic  sympathy  of  the  North  for  the  enfranchised 
blacks  led  to  the  bestowal  of  the  highest  term  in  educational 
nomenclature  upon  the  institutes  where  the  freedmen  were 
to  be  taught.  Fortunately,  Hampton  and  Tuskegee  escaped 
this  christening,  but  Fiske,  Atlanta,  and  Howard  founda- 
tions were  thus  namedx  It  is  nearer  the  truth  to  say  that 
the  complete  university  includes  four  faculties — the  liberal 
arts  or  philosophy,  law,  medicine,  and  theology.  Sometimes 
a  university  is  regarded  as  the  union,  under  one  board  of 
control,  of  all  the  highest  institutions  of  a  place  or  region. 
There  is  one  instance, — the  State  of  New  York, — where  the 
name  "  university  "  is  given  to  a  board  which  in  a  general 
way  supervises  all  the  degree-giving  institutions  in  the 
State. 

When  the  announcement  was  made  to  the  public,  at  the 
end  of  1873,  that  a  wealthy  merchant  of  Baltimore  had  pro- 
vided by  his  will  for  the  establishment  of  a  new  university,  a 
good  deal  of  latent  regret  was  felt  because  the  country  seemed 
to  have  already  more  higher  seminaries  than  it  could  supply 
with  teachers,  students,  or  funds.  Another  "  college  "  was 
expected  to  join  the  crowded  column,  and  impoverish  its 
neighbours  by  its  superior  attractions.  Fortunately,  the 
founder  was  wise  as  well  as  generous.  He  used  the  sim- 
plest phrases  to  express  his  wishes;  and  he  did  not  define  the 
distinguished  name  that  he  bestowed  upon  his  child,  nor 
embarrass  its  future  by  needless  conditions.  Details  were 
left  to  a  sagacious  body  of  trustees  whom  he  charged  with 
the  duty  of  supervision.  They  travelled  east  and  west, 
brought  to  Baltimore  experienced  advisers,  Eliot,  Angell, 
and  White,  and  procured  many  of  the  latest  books  that  dis- 
cussed the  problem  of  education.  By  and  by  they  chose  a 
president,  and  accepted  his  suggestion  that  they  should  give 
emphasis  to  the  word  "  university  "  and  should  endeavour 


8        THE   LAUNCHING   OF  A   UNIVERSITY 

to  build  up  an  institution  quite  different  from  a  "  college," 
thus  making  an  addition  to  American  education,  not  intro- 
ducing a  rival.  Young  men  who  had  already  gone  through 
that  period  of  mental  discipline  which  commonly  leads  to 
the  baccalaureate  degree  were  invited  to  come  and  pursue 
those  advanced  studies  for  which  they  might  have  been  pre- 
pared, and  to  accept 'the  inspiration  and  guidance  of  profes- 
sors selected  because  of  acknowledged  distinction  or  of  spe- 
cial aptitudes.  Among  the  phrases  that  were  employed  to 
indicate  the  project  were  many  which  then  were  novel,  al- 
though they  are  now  the  commonplaces  of  catalogues  and 
speeches. 

Opportunities  for  advanced,  not  professional,  studies  were 
then  scanty  in  this  country.  In  the  older  colleges  certain 
graduate  courses  were  attended  by  a  small  number  of  fol- 
lowers— but  the  teachers  were  for  the  most  part  absorbed 
with  undergraduate  instruction,  and  could  give  but  little 
time  to  the  few  who  sought  their  guidance.  Probably  my 
experience  was  not  unusual.  After  taking  the  degree  of 
Bachelor  of  Arts  in  Yale  College,  I  was  undecided  what 
profession  to  follow.  The  effect  of  the  collegiate  discipline, 
which  "  introduced  "  me,  according  to  the  phrase  of  the  day, 
to  not  less  than  twenty  subjects  in  the  senior  year,  was  to 
arouse  an  interest  of  about  equal  intensity  in  as  many 
branches  of  knowledge.  I  remained  a  year  at  New  Haven 
as  a  resident  graduate.  President  Woolsey,  whom  I  con- 
sulted, asked  me  to  read  Rau's  political  economy  and  come 
and  tell  him  its  contents;  I  did  not  accept  the  challenge.  I 
asked  Professor  Hadley  if  I  might  read  Greek  with  him; 
he  declined  my  proposal.  Professor  Porter  did  give  me  some 
guidance  in  reading,  especially  in  German.  I  had  many 
talks  of  an  inspiring  nature  with  Professor  Dana — but,  on 
the  whole,  I  think  that  the  year  was  wasted.  The  next 
autumn  I  went  to  Cambridge  and  called  upon  President 
Sparks,  to  learn  what  opportunities  were  there  open.  "  You 


IDEA  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  9 

can  hear  Professor  Agassiz  lecture,"  he  said,  "  if  you  want 
to;  and  I  believe  Mr.  Longfellow  is  reading  Dante  with  a 
class."  I  did  not  find  at  Cambridge  any  better  opportunities 
than  I  had  found  at  New  Haven — but  in  both  places  I 
learned  to  admire  the  great  teachers,  and  to  wish  that  there 
were  better  arrangements  for  enabling  a  graduate  student 
to  ascertain  what  could  be  enjoyed  and  to  profit  by  the 
opportunities. 

As  the  day  has  now  come  when  there  is  almost  a  super- 
fluity of  advanced  courses,  let  me  tell  some  of  the  conditions 
which  brought  the  Johns  Hopkins  foundations  into  close 
relations  with  these  upward  and  onward  movements. 

Before  a  university  can  be  launched  there  are  six  requi- 
sites: An  idea;  capital,  to  make  the  ideal  feasible;  a  defi- 
nite plan;  an  able  staff  of  coadjutors;  books  and  appara- 
tus; students.  On  each  of  these  points  I  shall  briefly 
dwell,  conscious  of  one  advantage  as  a  writer — conscious, 
also,  of  a  disadvantage.  I  have  the  advantage  of  knowing 
more  than  anyone  else  of  an  unwritten  chapter  of  history; 
the  disadvantage  of  not  being  able  or  disposed  to  tell  the 
half  that  I  remember. 

"  The  idea  of  the  university "  was  a  phrase  to  which 
Cardinal  Newman  had  given  currency  in  a  remarkable 
series  of  letters  in  which  he  advocated  the  establishment 
of  a  Catholic  foundation  in  Dublin.  At  a  time  when  eccle- 
siastical or  denominational  colleges  were  at  the  front,  and 
were  considered  by  many  people  the  only  defensible  places 
for  the  education  of  young  men,  his  utterances  for  academic 
freedom  were  emancipating;  at  a  time  when  early  spe- 
cialisation was  advocated,  his  defence  of  liberal  culture  was 
reassuring.  The  evidence  elicited  by  the  British  university 
commissions  was  instructive,  and  the  writings  of  Mark 
Pattison,  Dr.  Appleton,  Matthew  Arnold,  and  others  were 
full  of  suggestions.  Innumerable  essays  and  pamphlets  had 
appeared  in  Germany  discussing  the  improvements  which 


io      THE   LAUNCHING   OF  A  UNIVERSITY 

were  called  for  in  that  land  of  research.  The  endeavours 
of  the  new  men  at  Cambridge  and  New  Haven,  and  the 
instructive  success  of  the  University  of  Virginia,  were  all 
brought  under  consideration.  Under  these  favourable  cir- 
cumstances, Zeit-geist  they  may  be  called,  the  Johns  Hop- 
kins was  founded  upon  the  idea  of  a  university  as  distinct 
from  a  college. 

The  capital  was  provided  by  a  single  individual.  No 
public  meeting  was  ever  held  to  promote  subscriptions  or 
to  advocate  higher  education;  no  speculation  in  land  was 
proposed ;  no  financial  gains  were  expected ;  no  religious 
body  was  involved,  not  even  the  Society  of  orthodox 
Friends,  in  which  the  founder  had  been  trained,  and  from 
which  he  selected  several  of  his  confidential  advisers.  He 
gave  what  seemed  at  the  time  a  princely  gift;  he  supple- 
mented it  with  an  equal  gift  for  a  hospital.  It  was  natural 
that  he  should  also  give  his  name.  That  was  then  the 
fashion.  John  Harvard  and  Elihu  Yale  had  lived  long  ago, 
and  they  never  sought  the  remembrance  which  their  con- 
temporaries insured;  but  in  late  years  Girard,  Smithson, 
Lawrence,  Cornell,  and  Cooper,  had  all  regarded  their 
foundations  as  children  entitled  to  bear  the  parental  name. 
Their  follower  in  Maryland  did  likewise. 

It  is  always  interesting  to  know  the  genesis  of  great  gifts. 
Johns  Hopkins,  who  had  never  married,  was  in  doubt, 
when  he  grew  old,  respecting  the  bestowal  of  his  acquisi- 
tions. The  story  is  current  that  a  sagacious  friend  said 
to  him,  "  There  are  two  things  which  are  sure  to  live — a 
university,  for  there  will  always  be  the  youth  to  train; 
and  a  hospital,  for  there  will  always  be  the  suffering  to 
relieve."  This  germ,  implanted  in  a  large  brain,  soon  bore 
fruit. 

There  is  another  story  which  is  worth  repeating,  for  it 
shows  the  relation  of  one  benefaction  to  another.  When 
George  Peabody,  near  the  end  of  his  life,  came  to  Balti- 


INFLUENCE   OF   GEORGE    PEABODY      11 

more,  the  place  of  his  former  residence,  he  was  invited  to 
dine  by  Mr.  John  W.  Garrett,  and  Mr.  Hopkins  was  in- 
vited to  meet  him.  It  is  my  impression  that  they  were 
alone  at  the  table.  The  substance  of  Mr.  Peabody's  re- 
marks has  thus  been  given  by  the  host: 

"  Mr.  Hopkins,"  said  the  famous  London  banker, 
"  we  both  commenced  our  commercial  life  in  Baltimore, 
and  we  knew  each  other  well.  I  left  Baltimore  for  Lon- 
don, and  from  the  commencement  of  my  busy  life  I  must 
state  that  I  was  extremely  fond  of  money,  and  very  happy 
in  acquiring  it.  I  laboured,  struggled,  and  economised  con- 
tinuously and  increased  my  store,  and  I  have  been  very 
proud  of  my  achievements.  Leaving  Baltimore,  after  a 
successful  career  in  a  relatively  limited  sphere,  I  began  in 
London,  the  seat  of  the  greatest  intellectual  forces  connected 
with  commerce,  and  there  I  succeeded  wonderfully,  and, 
in  competition  with  houses  that  had  been  wealthy,  pros- 
perous, and  famous  for  generations,  I  carved  my  way  to 
opulence.  It  is  due  to  you,  Mr.  Hopkins,  to  say,  remem- 
bering you  so  well,  that  you  are  the  only  man  I  have  met 
in  all  my  experience  more  thoroughly  anxious  to  make 
money  and  more  determined  to  succeed  than  myself;  and 
you  have  enjoyed  the  pleasure  of  success,  too.  In  vigorous 
efforts  for  mercantile  power,  capital,  of  course,  and  large 
capital,  was  vital.  I  had  the  satisfaction,  as  you  have  had, 
of  feeling  that  success  is  the  test  of  merit,  and  I  was  happy 
in  the  view  that  I  was  in  this  sense,  at  least,  very  mer- 
itorious. You  also  have  enjoyed  a  great  share  of  success 
and  of  commercial  power  and  honour.  But,  Mr.  Hopkins, 
though  my  progress  was  for  a  long  period  satisfactory  and 
gratifying,  yet,  when  age  came  upon  me,  and  when  aches 
and  pains  made  me  realise  that  I  was  not  immortal,  I  felt, 
after  taking  care  of  my  relatives,  great  anxiety  to  place  the 
millions  that  I  had  accumulated  so  as  to  accomplish  the 
greatest  good  for  humanity.  I  looked  about  me  and  formed 


12      THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

the  conclusion  that  there  were  men  who  were  just  as  anx- 
ious to  work  with  integrity  and  faithfulness,  for  the  com- 
fort, consolation,  and  advancement  of  the  suffering  and 
the  struggling  poor,  as  I  had  been  to  gather  fortune.  After 
careful  consideration,  I  called  a  number  of  my  friends  in 
whom  I  had  confidence  to  meet  me,  and  I  proposed  that 
they  should  act  as  my  trustees,  and  I  organised  my  first 
scheme  of  benevolence.  The  trust  was  accepted,  and  I 
then  for  the  first  time  felt  there  was  a  higher  pleasure  and 
a  greater  happiness  than  accumulating  money,  and  that 
was  derived  from  giving  it  for  good  and  humane  purposes; 
and  so,  sir,  I  have  gone  on,  and  from  that  day  realised, 
with  increasing  enjoyment,  the  pleasure  of  arranging  for 
the  greatest  practicable  good  for  those  who  would  need 
my  means  to  aid  their  well-being,  progress,  and  happiness." 

Given  the  idea  and  the  funds,  the  next  requisite  was  a 
plan.  In  my  first  interviews  with  the  trustees,  I  was 
strongly  impressed  by  their  desire  to  do  the  very  best  that 
was  possible  under  the  circumstances  in  which  they  were 
placed.  We  quickly  reached  concurrence.  Without  dis- 
sent, it  was  agreed  that  we  were  to  develop,  if  possible, 
something  more  than  a  local  institution,  and  were  at  least 
to  aim  at  national  influence;  that  we  should  try  to  supple- 
ment, and  not  supplant,  existing  colleges,  and  should  en- 
deavour to  bring  to  Baltimore,  as  teachers  and  as  students, 
the  ablest  minds  that  we  could  attract.  It  was  understood 
that  we  should  postpone  all  questions  of  building,  dormi- 
tories, commons,  discipline,  and  degrees;  that  we  should 
hire  or  buy  in  the  heart  of  the  city  a  temporary  perch,  and 
remain  on  it  until  we  could  determine  what  wants  should 
be  revealed,  and  until  we  could  decide  upon  future  build- 
ings. We  were  to  await  the  choice  of  a  faculty  before  we 
matured  any  schemes  of  examination,  instruction,  and 
graduation. 

I  was  encouraged  to  travel  freely  at  home  and  abroad. 


EUROPEAN  FRIENDS  13 

Among  many  men  of  distinction  whom  I  met  on  these  jour- 
neys, I  shall  in  passing  mention  several.  In  Oxford,  Cam- 
bridge, Glasgow,  Dublin,  and  Manchester  much  interest 
was  shown  in  our  new  undertaking.  A  confidential  talk 
with  Dr.  Jowett,  the  head  of  Balliol  College,  comes  often 
to  mind.  I  remember  vividly  and  with  special  pleasure 
my  visit  to  Lord  Kelvin  in  his  laboratory  in  the  Univer- 
sity of  Glasgow,  and  a  dinner  with  the  X  Club  in  London, 
to  which  Professor  Tyndall  invited  me,  and  where  I  met 
Spencer,  Hooker,  Huxley,  Frankland,  and  other  leaders  of 
science.  The  story  of  this  club  is  given  in  Huxley's  mem- 
oirs. To  many  leaders  in  the  profession  of  medicine  I  was 
introduced  by  Dr.  John  S.  Billings.  On  the  Continent  I 
visited  Paris,  Berlin,  Heidelberg,  Strasburg,  Freiburg,  Leip- 
sic,  Munich,  and  Vienna.  In  all  these  places  the  labora- 
tories were  new  and  were  even  more  impressive  than  the 
libraries.  Everywhere  the  problems  of  higher  education  were 
under  discussion;  everywhere,  readiness  to  be  helpful  and 
suggestive  was  apparent.  One  Sunday  afternoon  I  sat 
for  a  long  while  on  the  vine-clad  hill  of  Freiburg,  looking 
at  the  beautiful  spire  of  the  cathedral  and  talking  with  the 
historian,  Professor  Von  Hoist — already  well  acquainted 
with  American  conditions.  He  became  one  of  our  lecturers, 
and  afterward  took  part  in  the  development  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Chicago.  He  gave  me  an  inside  view  of  the  work- 
ings of  the  German  University  system.  Professor  James 
Bryce  was  a  most  serviceable  interpreter  of  the  intricacies 
of  Oxford  and  Cambridge.  Through  a  college  classmate 
who  had  become  an  agrege  in  the  University  of  France,  I 
had  a  similar  introduction  to  the  methods  of  the  French. 
Among  my  note-books  I  think  there  is  one  in  which,  while 
at  Oxford,  in  the  autumn  of  1875,  I  drew  up  an  outline 
of  the  possible  organisation  of  our  work  in  Baltimore.  It 
was  brief,  but  it  was  also  comprehensive. 

The  first  real  difficulty  was  the  selection  of  a  faculty. 


H      THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

Of  this  I  shall  speak  in  some  subsequent  pages.  Here  it 
is  enough  to  say  that  the  announcement  was  boldly  made 
that  the  best  men  who  could  be  found  would  be  first  ap- 
pointed without  respect  to  the  place  from  which  they  came, 
the  college  wherein  they  were  trained,  or  the  religious  body 
to  which  they  belonged.  The  effort  would  be  made  to 
secure  the  best  men  who  were  free  to  accept  positions  in 
a  new,  uncertain,  and,  it  must  be  acknowledged,  somewhat 
risky  organisation.  I  will  not  recall  the  overtures  made  to 
men  of  mark,  nor  the  overtures  received  from  men  of  no 
mark.  Nor  can  I  say  whether  it  was  harder  to  eliminate 
from  the  list  of  candidates  the  second  best,  or  to  secure  the 
best. 

All  this  it  is  well  to  forget.  When  I  die,  the  mem- 
ory of  those  anxieties  and  perplexities  will  forever  disap- 
pear. It  is  enough  to  remember  that  Sylvester,  Gilder- 
sleeve,  Remsen,  Rowland,  Morris,  and  Martin  were  the 
first  professors.  As  a  faculty  "  we  were  seven."  Our  edu- 
cation, our  antecedents,  our  peculiarities  were  very  differ- 
ent, but  we  were  full  of  enthusiasm,  and  we  got  on  together 
without  a  discordant  note.  Four  of  the  six  are  dead;  one 
is  still  as  vigorous  and  incisive  as  ever;  one  is  now  Presi- 
dent. An  able  corps  of  associates,  lecturers,  and  fellows 
was  appointed  with  the  professors,  and  they  were  admirable 
helpers  in  the  inception  of  the  work. 

The  recent  death  of  Professor  Rowland  has  brought  his 
name  before  the  public,  and  I  have  often  been  asked  how  at 
the  age  of  twenty-eight  he  was  selected  for  the  important 
chair  of  physics.  The  facts  are  these. 

While  on  service  as  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Visitors 
at  West  Point  in  the  summer  of  1875,  I  became  well  ac- 
quainted with  General  Michie,  then  professor  of  physics 
in  the  United  States  Military  Academy.  I  asked  him  who 
there  was  that  could  be  considered  for  our  chair  of  physics. 
He  told  me  that  there  was  a  young  man  in  Troy,  of  whom 


PROFESSOR    ROWLAND  15 

probably  I  had  not  heard,  whom  he  had  met  at  the  house 
of  Professor  Forsyth  and  who  seemed  to  him  full  of  promise. 

"What  has  he  done?"  I  said. 

"  He  has  lately  published  an  article  in  the  Philosophical 
Magazine"  was  his  reply,  "  which  shows  great  ability.  If 
you  want  a  young  man  you  had  better  talk  with  him.*1 

"  Why  did  he  publish  it  in  London,"  said  I,  "  and  not 
in  the  American  Journal?  " 

"  Because  it  was  turned  down  by  the  American  editors," 
he  said,  "  and  the  writer  at  once  forwarded  it  to  Professor 
Clerk  Maxwell,  who  sent  it  to  the  English  periodical." 

This  at  once  arrested  my  attention  and  we  telegraphed 
to  Mr.  Rowland  to  come  from  Troy,  where  he  was  an  as- 
sistant instructor  in  the  Rensselaer  Polytechnic  Institute. 
He  came  at  once  and  we  walked  up  and  down  Kosciusko's 
Garden,  talking  over  his  plans  and  ours.  He  told  me  in 
detail  of  his  correspondence  with  Maxwell,  and  I  think  he 
showed  me  the  letters  received  from  him.  At  any  rate,  it 
was  obvious  that  I  was  in  confidential  relations  with  a  young 
man  of  rare  intellectual  powers  and  of  uncommon  apti- 
tude for  experimental  science.  When  I  reported  the  facts 
to  the  trustees  in  Baltimore  they  said  at  once,  "  Engage 
that  young  man  and  take  him  with  you  to  Europe,  where 
he  may  follow  the  leaders  in  his  science  and  be  ready  for  a 
professorship."  And  this  was  done.  His  subsequent  career 
is  well  known. 

The  purchase  of  books  and  apparatus  is  of  but  little  in- 
terest to  the  public,  so  I  pass  that  subject  by,  and  will  pro- 
ceed at  once  to  the  sixth  requisite.  After  plans  had  been 
formed  and  teachers  installed,  the  question  was  still  open, 
Where  are  the  students?  We  were  very  fortunate  in  those 
that  came  to  us.  They  were  not  many  at  first,  and  it  was 
comparatively  easy  to  become  acquainted  with  every  one. 
Among  the  pleasantest  recollections  of  my  life  are  the  rela- 
tions which  I  have  held  with  the  young  men  among  whom 


i6      THE  LAUNCHING   OF  A   UNIVERSITY 

my  lot  has  been  cast.  In  later  years  the  numbers  have  been 
large,  the  helpers  many,  so  that  I  have  not  been  quite  as 
fortunate,  but  for  a  long  while  I  was  brought  into  close 
acquaintance  with  every  student.  This  half-official,  half- 
fraternal  intercourse  has  ripened  into  life-long  friendships. 
In  Baltimore,  I  have  always  regarded  the  original  body  of 
fellows  as  the  advance-guard,  carefully  chosen,  well  taught, 
and  quickly  promoted.  Without  exception  these  twenty 
men  soon  won  distinction.  Most  of  them  are  happily  liv- 
ing— so  I  will  not  dwell  upon  their  merits;  but  of  two 
Associates  who  have  lately  passed  away  I  will  say  a  few 
words. 

Professor  Adams  came  to  us  at  the  very  opening  of  the 
university,  fresh  from  his  studies  under  Bluntschli  in  Heidel- 
berg. He  quickly  showed  the  rare  qualities  which  were  mani- 
fest through  his  life — enthusiasm,  application,  versatility, 
and  a  generous  appreciation  of  others.  His  mind  was  sug- 
gestive, capable  of  forming  wise  plans,  and  quick  in  devis- 
ing the  methods  by  which  those  plans  could  be  carried  out. 
A  remarkable  trait  was  the  power  of  perceiving  the  adapta- 
tion of  his  scholars  to  such  posts  as  were  open.  He  could 
almost  always  suggest  the  right  man  for  a  given  vacancy ;  and 
he  was  just  as  ready  to  deter  one  that  he  thought  unsuitable 
from  seeking  a  place  beyond  his  powers. 

He  began  at  an  early  day  what  was  not  exactly  an  asso- 
ciation nor  a  seminary,  but  a  weekly  reunion  of  the  teach- 
ers and  scholars  in  the  department  of  historical  and  polit- 
ical science.  These  meetings  were  stimulating  to  all  who 
took  part  in  them,  and  while  the  leadership  fell  upon  Dr. 
Adams,  many  men  of  distinction  came  to  the  gatherings 
and  did  their  part  in  making  them  of  interest.  He  also 
initiated  that  remarkable  series  of  publications,  which  con- 
tinued under  his  editorship  until  his  death — a  repository  of 
memoirs,  longer  and  shorter,  pertaining  to  American  insti- 
tutional history.  He  edited  for  the  Bureau  of  Education  a 


ADAMS   AND   CRAIG 

series  of  monographs  on  instruction  in  the  various  States  of 
the  Union.  To  his  bright  mind  (I  suspect),  the  idea  of 
forming  an  American  historical  association  is  due.  Cer- 
tainly he  was  in  its  early  days  the  most  efficient  promoter 
of  that  society,  and  he  continued  to  be,  until  his  health  broke 
down,  the  secretary  and  the  editor  of  the  annual  reports. 

After  all,  surely,  his  highest  service  was  in  the  art  of  in- 
spiring others;  and  when  I  think  of  those  who  came  under 
his  influence,  Woodrow  Wilson,  Albert  Shaw,  J.  F.  Jame- 
son, Charles  H.  Levermore,  D.  R.  Dewey,  F.  W.  Black- 
mar,  B.  C.  Steiner,  W.  W.  and  W.  F.  Willoughby,  C. 
H.  Haskins,  Charles  M.  Andrews,  F.  J.  Turner,  J.  M. 
Vincent,  J.  H.  Hollander,  and  many  more,  it  seems  to  me 
that  no  higher  achievement  could  have  been  attained  by  him, 
no  greater  reward  secured. 

Before  it  was  publicly  known  that  Professor  Sylvester 
was  to  have  charge  of  our  mathematical  work,  Thomas 
Craig,  from  Lafayette  College,  inquired  of  me  whether 
Sylvester  was  coming  to  us.  Now,  Sylvester  had  no  popu- 
lar reputation.  His  writings  were  diffused  through  a  mul- 
titude of  scientific  journals,  and  he  had  never  published  them 
in  separate  volumes.  I  was  surprised  by  the  inquiry  of  a 
youthful  schoolmaster  from  the  country,  and  said,  "  What 
do  you  know  about  Professor  Sylvester?"  His  reply  was, 
"  Not  to  know  the  name  of  Sylvester,  is  to  know  nothing 
of  modern  mathematics."  I  said,  "  Very  true,  but  is  that 
all  you  know  of  him  ?  "  He  then  acknowledged  that  he 
had  read  some  of  the  memoirs  of  this  illustrious  geometer. 
Then  I  asked  what  made  him  think  that  Sylvester  was  com- 
ing. He  said  that  Professor  Peirce,  of  Harvard,  had  told 
him.  "Do  you  know  Professor  Peirce?"  said  I.  "Not 
personally,"  was  his  reply,  "  but  I  have  had  several  letters 
from  him,  and  in  one  of  them  he  told  me  that  I  ought  to 
go  to  Baltimore  and  study  with  Sylvester."  So  I  took  the 
young  man  into  confidence  and  told  him  that,  although  the 


1 8      THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

arrangements  were  not  perfected,  we  did  expect  the  co- 
operation of  this  English  savant.  The  young  man  came  to 
us  and  accepted  one  of  the  fellowships,  and  from  that  time- 
onward  until  his  health  gave  way  he  was  a  brilliant  mem- 
ber of  our  mathematical  corps.  He  became  the  successor 
of  Sylvester  and  the  associate  of  Newcomb  in  the  editorial 
control  of  the  American  Journal  of  Mathematics  and  was 
thus  brought  into  personal  relations  with  most  of  the  re- 
nowned mathematicians  of  Europe,  whose  letters  as  they 
lie  before  me  indicate  their  respect  for  their  American  cor- 
respondent. His  text-books  were  used  at  one  time  in  the 
University  of  Cambridge,  England,  and  his  other  mathe- 
matical writings  were  of  distinct  value,  though  they  were 
not  numerous. 

Among  the  early  students  one  of  the  most  brilliant  was 
Dr.  Keeler,  latterly  director  of  the  Lick  Astronomical  Ob- 
servatory, in  California.  He  came  of  good  New  England 
stock,  but  had  been  far  away  from  all  opportunities  of  su- 
perior education  at  his  home  in  Florida.  One  day  he  ap- 
peared in  Baltimore  and  asked  leave  to  be  received  as  a 
student  in  optics.  A  visitor  in  Florida,  Mr.  Charles  H. 
Rockwell,  an  amateur  astronomer  of  unusual  ability,  had 
seen  him  engaged  in  surveying  land  with  a  theodolite  of  his 
own  construction,  and  had  asked  the  future  astronomer 
what  career  he  wished  to  follow.  Keeler  replied,  "  I  should 
like  to  be  an  optician."  With  remarkable  insight  Mr.  Rock- 
well encouraged  him  to  go  to  Cambridge  and  consult  with 
Alvan  Clark.  This  maker  of  telescopes  said :  "  I  cannot 
receive  you  as  a  student;  go  to  the  Sheffield  School  in  New 
Haven  and  see  what  they  will  do  for  you."  At  New  Haven 
they  told  him,  "  Go  to  Baltimore  and  work  with  Dr.  Hast- 
ings." So  he  came  to  us.  His  means  were  very  small, 
and  he  was  glad  to  earn  a  little  money  by  the  making  of 
diagrams,  by  drawing  a  plot  of  our  grounds,  and  in  other 
ways.  He  showed  so  much  ability  that  he  was  encouraged 


JAMES   E.   KEELER  19 

to  clear  off  our  requirements  for  matriculation  (which  he 
did  under  the  personal  instruction  of  Professor  Charles  D. 
Morris),  and  subsequently  he  proceeded  to  the  degree  of 
Bachelor  of  Arts.  Not  long  afterward  he  went  to  California 
with  Professor  Langley  and  aided  him  in  original  investiga- 
tions respecting  the  heat  of  the  sun,  on  the  summit  of  Mount 
Whitney.  He  became  an  observer  in  the  Allegheny  Ob- 
servatory, and  finally  he  ended  his  career  while  in  charge 
of  the  great  instrument  at  the  Lick  Observatory,  on  Mount 
Hamilton,  California,  having  won  the  highest  recognition 
from  all  the  astronomers  of  his  day. 

These  are  by  no  means  the  only  examples  that  occur  to 
me  of  brilliant  young  men  whom  we  were  at  once  able  to 
encourage.  The  list  is  long.  Fortunately  most  of  them  are 
still  winning  reputation.  Whatever  service  we  have  ren- 
dered them  is  largely  due  to  the  freedom  of  our  methods, 
and  to  the  close  contact  which  has  prevailed  between  the 
leading  scholars  and  those  that  have  come  under  their 
guidance,  and  above  all  to  the  brilliant  and  learned  men 
whose  influence,  often  unconscious,  has  been  the  most  potent 
factor  in  the  university  at  Baltimore.  Thus  with  the  six 
requisites,  an  idea,  a  plan,  an  endowment,  a  faculty,  appara- 
tus, and  students,  we  proceeded  to  launch  our  bark  upon 
the  Patapsco. 

As  the  day  drew  near  for  the  opening  of  our  doors  and 
the  beginning  of  instruction  the  word  reached  us  that  Pro- 
fessor Huxley  of  London  was  coming  to  this  country.  We 
had  already  decided  that,  in  view  of  the  attention  which 
was  to  be  given  to  medicine,  biology  should  receive  a  large 
amount  of  attention,  more  than  ever  before  in  America. 
That  meant  the  study,  in  the  laboratory,  of  vegetable  and 
animal  forms  and  functions,  so  that  the  eyes  and  hands 
and  brains  of  the  students  might  become  prepared  for  the 
study  of  the  human  body  in  health  and  in  disease.  Huxley, 
among  English-speaking  people,  was  the  leader  in  these 


20      THE   LAUNCHING   OF  A  UNIVERSITY 

studies.  His  repute  as  an  investigator  was  very  high,  and 
as  the  popular  interpreter  and  defender  of  biological  in- 
vestigations he  was  without  a  peer.  His  acquaintance  with 
the  problems  of  medical  education  was  also  well  known. 
As  a  public  speaker  upon  scientific  subjects  there  was  no 
superior.  He  had  rendered  us  a  service  by  nominating  Dr. 
Martin  to  the  professorship  of  biology.  The  moment  was 
opportune  for  informing  the  public,  through  the  speech  of 
this  master,  in  respect  to  the  requirements  of  modern  medi- 
cine and  the  value  of  biological  research.  I  do  not  suppose 
that  anyone  connected  with  the  university  had  thought  of 
the  popular  hostility  toward  biology.  We  did  not  know 
that  to  many  persons  this  mysterious  term  was  like  a 
red  flag  of  warning.  The  fact  that  some  naturalists  were 
considered  irreligious  filled  the  air  with  suspicions  that  the 
new  foundation  would  be  handed  over  to  the  Evil  One. 
The  sequel  will  show  what  happened.  Professor  Huxley 
was  invited;  he  accepted,  he  came  to  Baltimore,  he  ad- 
dressed a  crowded  assembly — then  came  a  storm. 

An  amusing  incident  in  this  visit  has  been  told  by  his 
biographer;  but  as  my  recollections  differ  in  slight  details, 
I  will  tell  the  story  in  my  own  way. 

On  his  arrival  in  Baltimore,  Professor  Huxley  was  driven 
to  the  country  seat  of  Mr.  Garrett,  who  had  offered  him 
hospitality  and  had  invited  a  large  company  to  meet  him 
in  an  afternoon  party.  There  was  but  one  intervening 
day  between  his  arrival,  tired  out  by  a  long  journey  in  the 
interior,  and  his  delivery  of  the  address.  He  had  hardly 
reached  the  residence  of  his  host  before  the  reporters  dis- 
covered him  and  asked  for  the  manuscript  of  his  speech. 
"  Manuscript?  "  he  said,  "  I  have  none.  I  shall  speak  freely 
on  a  theme  with  which  I  am  quite  familiar."  "  Well,  pro- 
fessor," said  the  interlocutor,  "  that  is  all  right,  but  our 
instructions  are  to  send  the  speech  to  the  papers  in  New 
York,  and  if  you  cannot  give  us  the  copy,  we  must  take  it 


PROFESSOR    HUXLEY'S   ADDRESS          21 

down  as  well  as  we  can  and  telegraph  it,  for  the  Associated 
Press  is  bound  to  print  it  the  morning  after  it  is  spoken." 
This  was  appalling,  for  in  view  of  the  possible  inaccuracy 
of  the  short-hand,  and  the  possible  condensation  of  the  wire- 
hand,  the  lecturer  was  afraid  that  technical  and  scientific 
terms  might  not  be  rightly  reproduced.  "  You  can  have 
your  choice,  professor,"  said  the  urbane  reporter,  "  to  give 
us  the  copy  or  to  let  us  do  the  best  we  can;  for  report  the 
speech  we  shall."  The  professor  yielded,  and  the  next  day 
he  walked  up  and  down  in  his  room  at  Mr.  Garrett's,  dic- 
tating to  a  stenographer,  in  cold  and  irresponsive  seclusion, 
the  speech  which  he  expected  to  make  before  a  receptive 
and  hospitable  assembly. 

I  sat  very  near  the  orator  as  he  delivered  the  address  in 
the  Academy  of  Music,  and  noticed  that,  although  he  kept 
looking  at  the  pile  of  manuscript  on  the  desk  before  him, 
he  did  not  turn  the  pages  over.  The  speech  was  appro- 
priate and  well  received,  but  it  had  no  glow,  and  the  orator 
did  not  equal  his  reputation  for  charm  and  persuasiveness. 
When  the  applause  was  over,  I  said  to  Mr.  Huxley,  "  I 
noticed  that  you  did  not  read  your  address;  I  am  afraid 
the  light  was  insufficient."  "  Oh,"  said  he,  "  that  was  not 
the  matter.  I  have  been  in  distress.  The  reporters  brought 
me,  according  to  their  promise,  the  copy  of  their  notes.  It 
was  on  thin  translucent  paper,  and  to  make  it  legible,  they 
put  clean  white  sheets  between  the  leaves.  That  made  such 
bulk  that  I  removed  the  intermediate  leaves,  and  when  I 
stood  up  at  the  desk  I  found  I  could  not  read  a  sentence. 
So  I  have  been  in  a  dilemma — not  daring  to  speak  freely, 
and  trying  to  recall  what  I  dictated  yesterday  and  allowed 
the  reporters  to  send  to  New  York."  If  he  used  an  epithet 
before  the  word  "  reporters  "  I  am  sure  he  was  justified, 
but  I  forget  what  it  was. 

Those  of  us  who  wanted  guidance  and  encouragement 
from  a  leading  advocate  of  biological  studies  were  rewarded 


22      THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

and  gratified  by  the  address,  and  have  often  referred  to  it 
as  it  was  printed  in  his  American  discourses  and  afterward 
in  his  collected  works. 

We  had  sowed  the  wind  and  were  to  reap  the  whirl- 
wind. The  address  had  not  been  accompanied  by  any  ac- 
cessories except  the  presentation  of  the  speaker,  no  other 
speech,  no  music,  no  opening  prayer,  no  benediction.  I  had 
proposed  to  two  of  the  most  religious  trustees  that  there 
should  be  an  introductory  prayer,  and  they  had  said  no, 
preferring  that  the  discourse  should  be  given  as  popular 
lectures  are  given  at  the  Peabody  Institute  and  elsewhere, 
without  note  or  comment. 

It  happened  that  a  correspondent  of  one  of  the  religious 
weeklies  in  New  York  was  present,  and  he  wrote  a  sensa- 
tional letter  to  his  paper,  calling  attention  to  the  fact  that 
there  was  no  prayer.  This  was  the  storm-signal.  Many 
people  who  thought  that  a  university,  like  a  college,  could 
not  succeed  unless  it  was  under  some  denominational  con- 
trol, were  sure  that  this  opening  discourse  was  but  an  over- 
ture' to  the  play  of  irreligious  and  anti-religious  actors. 
Vain  it  was  to  mention  the  unquestioned  orthodoxy  of  the 
trustees,  and  the  ecclesiastical  ties  of  those  who  had  been 
selected  to  be  the  professors.  Huxley  was  bad  enough; 
Huxley  without  a  prayer  was  intolerable. 

Some  weeks  afterward  a  letter  came  into  my  hands  ad- 
dressed to  a  Presbyterian  minister  of  Baltimore,  by  a 
Presbyterian  minister  of  New  York.  Both  have  now 
gone  where  such  trifles  have  no  importance,  so  I  venture 
to  give  the  letter,  quoting  from  the  autograph.  The  italics 
are  mine : 

"  NEW  YORK,  3  Oct.,  1876. 

"  Thanks  for  your  letter,  my  friend,  and  the  information  you  give. 
The  University  advertised  Huxley's  Lecture  as  the  '  Opening '  and 
so  produced  the  impression  which  a  Baltimore  correspondent  in- 
creased by  taking  the  thing  as  it  was  announced.  //  was  bad 


RELIGIOUS    ATTITUDE  23 

enough  to  invite  Huxley.    It  were  better  to  have  asked  God  to  be 
present.    It  would  have  been  absurd  to  ask  them  both. 

"  I  am  sorry  Oilman  began  with  Huxley.  But  it  is  possible  yet  to 
redeem  the  University  from  the  stain  of  such  a  beginning.  No 
one  will  be  more  ready  than  I  to  herald  a  better  sign." 

It  was  several  years  before  the  black  eye  gained  its  nat- 
ural colour.  People  were  on  the  alert  for  impiety,  and  were 
disappointed  to  find  no  traces  of  it — that  the  faculty  was 
made  up  of  just  such  men  as  were  found  in  other  faculties, 
and  that  in  their  private  characters  and  their  public  utter- 
ances there  was  nothing  to  awaken  suspicion  or  justify  mis- 
trust. It  was  a  curious  fact,  unobserved  and  perhaps  un- 
known, that  four  of  the  first  seven  professors  came  from 
the  families  of  gospel  ministers,  and  a  fifth  of  the  group 
of  six  was  a  former  Fellow  of  Oriel  and  a  man  of  quite 
unusual  devoutness.  The  truth  is  that  the  public  had  been 
so  wonted  to  regard  colleges  as  religious  foundations,  and 
so  used  to  their  control  by  ministers,  that  it  was  not  easy 
to  accept  at  once  the  idea  of  an  undenominational  founda- 
tion  controlled  by  laymen.  Harvard  and  Cornell  have 
both  encountered  the  like  animosity.  At  length  the  preju- 
dice wore  away  without  any  manifesto  or  explanation  from 
the  authorities.  From  the  beginning  there  was  a  voluntary 
assembly  daily  held  for  Christian  worship;  soon  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  was  engrafted;  the  students 
became  active  in  the  churches  and  Sunday-schools  and  chari- 
ties of  Baltimore;  some  graduates  entered  the  ministry, 
and  one  became  a  bishop,  while  the  advanced  courses  in 
Hebrew,  Greek,  history,  and  philosophy,  were  followed  by 
ministers  of  many  Protestant  denominations,  Catholic 
priests  and  Jewish  rabbis.  It  is  also  gratifying  to  remem- 
ber that  many  of  the  ministers  of  Baltimore,  Presbyterian, 
Episcopalian,  Methodist,  and  Baptist,  have  intrusted  their 
sons  to  the  guidance  of  the  local  seminary  whose  influ- 
ence and  instructions  they  could  readily  watch  and  carefully 


24      THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

estimate.  As  I  consider  the  situation,  I  wish  it  were  possible 
for  religious  people  to  agree  upon  what  should  be  taught 
to  the  young,  in  respect  to  religious  doctrine,  or  at  least  to 
unite  in  religious  worship,  yet  I  cannot  forget  that,  in  ages 
and  in  countries  where  one  authority  has  been  recognised 
and  obeyed,  neither  intellect  nor  morals  have  attained  their 
highest  development. 


JOHNS    HOPKINS    AND    THE 
TRUSTEES  OF  HIS  CHOICE 


II 

JOHNS    HOPKINS   AND  THE   TRUSTEES   OP    HIS   CHOICE 

THE  death  of  Johns  Hopkins  occurred  December  24,  1873, 
when  he  was  well  advanced  in  his  seventy^ninth  year. 
He  was  widely  known  and  respected  in  Maryland,  Vir- 
ginia, and  North  Carolina,  as  a  merchant  who  had  accu- 
mulated a  large  fortune  by  habits  of  industry  and  frugality, 
and  by  great  financial  ability.  In  his  later  years  he  was  among 
the  foremost  of  the  moneyed  men  of  Baltimore,  which  had 
been  the  place  of  his  residence  since  he  came  to  it  as  a  boy 
from  his  country  home  in  Anne  Arundel  County.  He 
was  President  of  the  Merchants'  National  Bank,  one  of 
the  most  important  banks  of  the  city,  and  he  was  for  many 
years  a  Director  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad,  and, 
of  course,  familiar  with  its  financial  affairs.  His  forbears 
were  among  the  early  settlers  of  Maryland,  and  he  grew 
up  in  the  habits  of  integrity,  temperance  and  religion  char- 
acteristic of  the  Society  of  Friends,  to  which  his  parents 
belonged.  His  sisters  looked  after  his  household;  and  one 
of  his  nieces  has  told  me  how  well  she  remembers  that 
he  loved  to  gather  around  his  table  the  brightest  and  most 
intellectual  people  of  the  community — in  winter,  at  the 
stately  dwelling-house  still  standing  in  Saratoga  Street,  near 
Charles  Street  (next  to  the  rectory  of  St.  Paul's  Church), 
and  in  summer,  at  a  spacious  mansion,  surrounded  by  trees, 
lawns,  and  gardens,  two  miles  from  the  heart  of  the  city. 
His  estate,  which  was  known  as  Clifton,  is  now  one  of 
the  system  of  parks  surrounding  the  city  of  Baltimore — 
Druid  Hill,  Wyman,  Homewood,  Montebello,  Clifton, 

27 


28      THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

and  Patterson — a  suburban  circle  of  great  beauty,  afford- 
ing recreation  and  enjoyment  to  the  inhabitants  of  every 
part  of  the  city. 

Johns  Hopkins  was  not  a  man  who  cared  for  display, 
or  who  could  approve  extravagance  or  luxury.  In  town 
he  had  his  books  and  pictures,  and  in  the  country  he  en- 
joyed the  flowers,  trees,  and  shrubs  which  were  cultivated 
at  Clifton.  The  economical  habits  of  his  youth  continued 
with  him  to  the  end  of  his  days.  Yet  he  was  not  unmindful 
of  the  obligations  of  a  rich  man  to  the  place  of  his  residence, 
and  he  made  generous  gifts  to  the  Maryland  Institute,  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  and  to  other  objects. 
Many  instances  are  remembered  of  the  aid  which  he  gave 
to  young  men  who  needed  financial  support  and  in  whose 
character  he  confided.  There  are  no  indications  that  he 
ever  paid  much  attention  to  educational  or  philanthropic 
work.  He  did  not  care  to  travel,  and  there  is  no  record 
of  his  visits  to  public  institutions  for  the  promotion  of  char- 
ity or  learning. 

Several  years  before  his  death  he  caused  two  corpora- 
tions to  be  formed  for  the  maintenance,  the  one  of  a  hos- 
pital, and  the  other,  of  a  university.  Their  existence  was, 
of  course,  made  known  to  the  public,  and  when  he  died 
there  was  great  curiosity  as  to  the  amount  set  apart  for  their 
endowment  and  as  to  the  conditions.  It  presently  ap- 
peared that,  after  provisions  for  his  nearest  of  kin  and  other 
legacies,  seven  millions  of  dollars  would  be  equally  divided 
between  the  two  institutions  which  were  to  perpetuate  his 
name.  He  had  demonstrated  by  his  own  experience  an 
ancient  saying  of  which  he  may  never  have  heard :  "  Mag- 
num vectigal  est  parsimonium."  To  the  university  he 
gave  his  estate  at  Clifton,  and  the  shares  which  he  owned 
in  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad;  and  to  the  hospital 
he  gave  a  large  number  of  warehouses,  and  a  valuable  site 
which  he  had  bought  for  the  hospital. 


JOHNS   HOPKINS  AND   HIS  TRUSTEES    29 

As  a  sort  of  supplement  to  the  will,  a  remarkable  letter 
was  addressed  to  the  trustees  of  the  hospital,  in  which, 
with  great  sagacity,  the  founder  directed  that  the  hospital, 
when  completed,  should  be  a  part  of  the  medical  school, 
for  which  provision  was  made  in  the  university  which  he 
founded.  Much  depended  on  this  important  provision.  The 
two  Boards  of  Control,  holding  separate  purses,  and  meet- 
ing separately,  have  acted  in  accord.  Originally  nine  of 
the  twelve  trustees  were  trustees  in  both  corporations,  and 
although  this  proportion  has  not  been  uniformly  maintained, 
the  importance  of  official  co-operation  has  never  been  for- 
gotten. From  the  beginning  it  has  been  clearly  under- 
stood and  acknowledged  that  the  sphere  of  the  Univer- 
sity was  education,  and  the  sphere  of  the  Hospital  the 
relief  of  suffering. 

The  selection  of  trustees  for  the  discharge  of  great  re- 
sponsibilities is  always  perplexing.  They  must  not  only  be 
men  of  honour,  wise  and  unselfish,  but  they  must  be  able 
to  get  on  with  one  another.  The  board  must  include  so 
many  persons  that  a  diversity  of  views  may  be  represented; 
it  must  be  so  limited  that  the  personal  attention  of  every 
member  is  secured.  Probably  the  world  recognises  chiefly 
the  largeness  of  Johns  Hopkins'  bounty,  its  largeness  in 
amount,  in  scope,  and  in  freedom  from  minor  restrictions; 
but  he  might  have  failed  in  the  choice  of  men  to  administer 
his  trust.  On  the  contrary,  he  made  a  capital  selection,  from 
among  laymen,  resident  in  Baltimore,  in  middle  life,  inde- 
pendent, and  acquainted  with  affairs. 

Yet  he  was  not  infallible,  as  was  shown  by  his  absolute 
confidence  in  the  prosperity  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio 
Railroad,  which  was  indicated  by  his  legacy  to  the  Univer- 
sity of  fifteen  thousand  shares  in  that  company,  and  by  his 
injunction  to  the  trustees  to  watch  over  and  protect  the 
interests  of  the  road.  At  that  time  the  road  paid  annually 
ten  per  cent,  dividends,  and  it  was  understood  that  a  large 


30      THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

dividend,  share-for-share,  would  be  declared  at  an  early 
day,  from  undistributed  increments.  The  shares  were  then 
quoted  at  nearly  200,  the  par  being  100.  Under  these  cir- 
cumstances, it  did  not  then  appear  strange  that  when  the 
board  was  organised,  several  years  before  the  death  of  the 
founder,  the  chairman  of  the  finance  committee  of  the 
railroad,  Mr.  Galloway  Cheston,  was  made  president  of 
the  trustees  of  the  University,  and  Mr.  John  W.  Garrett, 
the  president  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad,  was 
made  chairman  of  the  finance  committee  in  the  University 
board.  I  mention  these  facts  in  order  that  the  close  union 
of  these  two  corporations,  which  continued  until  the  failure 
of  the  road  to  pay  any  dividends,  may  be  borne  in  mind 
when  the  finances  of  the  University  are  considered.  The 
combination  was  most  unfortunate.  It  was  likewise  a  mis- 
fortune that  so  many  eggs  were  placed  in  one  basket, 
and  that  the  founder  explicitly  advised  that  they  be  so 
carried. 

Let  me  now  characterise  the  men  of  his  choice.  Mr. 
Galloway  Cheston,  first  president  of  the  trustees,  was  a 
merchant  of  the  highest  credit,  who  sent  his  ships  to  dis- 
tant ports,  was  careful  in  his  investments  and  a  good  ad- 
viser in  all  financial  matters.  He  was  a  man  of  the  best 
social  standing,  fond  of  reading,  a  lover  of  flowers,  ex- 
tremely simple  and  unostentatious  in  his  daily  life,  and  a 
worshipper  in  the  Society  of  Friends,  to  which  his  wife 
belonged,  but  with  which  he  did  not  personally  unite. 
He  lived  to  an  advanced  age  and  died  with  the  respect  of 
all  who  knew  him.  As  a  presiding  ofHcer,  he  was  excellent. 
His  mode  of  conducting  the  business  was  exemplary.  While 
he  gave  everyone  a  chance  to  be  heard,  he  did  not  encourage 
wandering  talk,  and  when  he  thought  that  enough  had  been 
said,  he  would  put  the  question  to  the  vote  of  his  colleagues, 
and  declare  the  decision. 

The    Honourable   George   W.    Dobbin,   who   succeeded 


JOHNS   HOPKINS  AND  HIS  TRUSTEES    31 

Mr.  Cheston  as  chairman  of  the  board,  was  one  of  the 
judges  of  the  Supreme  Bench  in  Baltimore.  He  was  keenly 
alive  to  the  progress  of  modern  science.  He  read  those 
books  and  periodicals  which  recorded  the  latest  discoveries. 
He  attended  scientific  lectures.  He  maintained  a  work- 
shop or  laboratory  at  his  country  seat  near  Baltimore. 
He  observed  the  heavens.  He  practised  photography.  He 
followed  closely  the  modern  development  of  electrical  in- 
ventions. In  the  University  councils  science  always  had  an 
earnest  and  intelligent  advocate  while  Judge  Dobbin  was 
alive. 

When  death  released  him,  far  on  in  years,  his  suc- 
cessor in  office  was  Charles  Morton  Stewart  (not  one  of 
the  original  trustees),  a  merchant  in  every  way  qualified 
to  take  the  place  of  Galloway  Cheston.  Like  him,  he 
sailed  his  ships  in  distant  seas,  and  as  a  banker  he  was  in 
close  relations  with  distinguished  firms  in  London  and 
Paris,  as  well  as  in  New  York.  He  was  a  much  younger 
man  than  either  of  his  predecessors.  He  had  received  a 
liberal  education,  partly  in  Switzerland;  he  had  travelled 
widely;  and,  as  the  father  of  several  bright  sons,  he  was 
eager  to  make  the  University  so  good  in  all  respects  that 
boys  need  not  be  sent  away  from  Baltimore  to  secure  their 
proper  training.  Five  of  his  sons  have  proceeded  to  the 
degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts.  His  hospitality  at  Cliff  Holme, 
in  the  Green  Spring  Valley,  and  in  town,  his  generosity 
and  enthusiasm  were  limited  only  by  his  ability,  and  his 
ability  was  very  great. 

Closely  associated  with  Judge  Dobbin  in  the  service  of 
the  University  was  the  Chief  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Bench 
in  Baltimore,  the  Honourable  George  William  Brown, 
a  graduate  of  Rutgers  College.  He  held  the  position  of 
mayor  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War;  he  gave  the  orders 
to  burn  the  bridges  which  connected  the  city  with  the 
North,  and  he  bravely  marched  at  the  head  of  the  Massa- 


32      THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

chusetts  regiments,  for  their  protection,  as  they  passed 
through  the  city  in  the  face  of  an  angry  and  defiant  crowd. 
For  reasons  which  were  never  promulgated,  he  suffered 
imprisonment  in  Fort  Warren,  doubtless  because  he  was 
suspected  of  Southern  sympathies.  Of  all  these  stirring 
events  he  has  written  the  story.  Judge  Brown  was  a  man 
of  the  highest  personal  character,  a  good  writer,  a  good 
lawyer,  a  good  citizen,  always  ready  to  promote  the  wel- 
fare of  the  city  of  his  birth.  In  the  Peabody  Institute, 
the  Pratt  Library,  the  Maryland  Historical  Society,  the 
Bar  Library,  as  well  as  in  the  Johns  Hopkins  Hospital,  he 
was  a  most  faithful  trustee.  When  he  retired  from  the  bench, 
the  principal  officers  of  these  institutions  addressed  him  a 
letter  of  admiration  and  affection. 

While  the  persons  who  have  been  named  gave  dignity 
to  the  board  and  weight  to  its  decisions,  the  labouring  oar, 
at  the  outset,  was  intrusted  to  one  who  bore  a  name  already 
distinguished  throughout  the  land.  Reverdy  Johnson,  Junior, 
was  a  good  French  and  German  scholar,  who  had  taken 
his  degree  in  law  at  Heidelberg,  had  travelled  widely,  loved 
books,  and  was  thoroughly  appreciative  of  all  the  conserva- 
tive influences  which  tend  to  the  promotion  of  knowledge. 
He  was  the  chairman  of  the  executive  committee  for  many 
years,  until  his  voluntary  retirement  from  the  board  by 
reason  of  his  advancing  years  and  infirm  health.  He  is 
the  only  one  of  the  original  trustees  who  is  living  as  I  write 
these  pages.  Mr.  Johnson  was  not  a  man  eager  for  novel- 
ties, and  he  did  not  care  for  any  of  those  proceedings  which 
awaken  popular  attention  and  applause.  But  when  he  was 
once  persuaded  as  to  the  course  which  should  be  pursued, 
he  was  its  efficient  promoter.  He  was  incessant  in  his  at- 
tention to  the  business  of  the  University,  and,  before  the 
selection  of  the  president,  conducted  its  correspondence. 

The  services  of  Francis  T.  King  were  chiefly  directed 
to  the  construction  of  the  Johns  Hopkins  Hospital.  He 


JOHNS   HOPKINS   AND   HIS   TRUSTEES    33 

was  president  of  the  Hospital  board,  and  from  the  time 
that  he  assumed  the  responsibility,  until  his  death,  he  was 
assiduous  in  watching  every  detail.  He  had  the  art  of 
choosing  good  counsellors — one  of  the  most  serviceable  be- 
ing Dr.  John  S.  Billings,  U.  S.  A. — and  the  wisdom  to 
accept  their  suggestions.  He  could  not  be  hurried  or  driven, 
but  steadily,  with  ample  consideration,  he  directed  the  con- 
struction of  that  great  group  of  buildings  which  embodied 
every  important  improvement  that  could  be  thought  of  for 
the  conduct  of  an  infirmary.  The  story  of  his  labours 
belongs  to  the  Hospital;  but  here  it  must  be  said  that  his 
presence  in  the  University  board  was  not  nominal.  His 
broad  mind  seized  at  once  upon  every  question  that  came 
up,  and  while  he  was  most  useful  in  binding  the  Hospital 
and  the  University  together,  his  influence  was  always  felt 
in  the  discussion  of  other  subjects. 

The  services  of  the  Honourable  Charles  J.  M.  Gwinn 
were  of  fundamental  importance.  A  graduate  of  Prince- 
ton, a  leading  member  of  the  bar,  and  in  later  life  Attor- 
ney-General of  Maryland,  his  legal  acumen  and  his  powers 
of  exact  expression  made  him  most  serviceable  in  the  prep- 
aration of  legal  documents  and  in  the  drafting  of  important 
papers.  The  will  of  the  founder  was  drafted  by  him,  and 
to  him,  in  a  large  degree  (as  I  believe),  may  be  attributed 
the  letter  of  Johns  Hopkins  in  respect  to  medical  education. 
He  continued  in  the  service  of  Johns  Hopkins,  as  a  member 
of  the  two  boards,  until  his  death. 

Francis  White,  who  married  the  niece  of  Johns  Hopkins, 
was  one  of  the  three  executors  of  his  will,  and  the  original 
treasurer.  The  other  executors  were  Mr.  King  and  Mr. 
Gwinn.  Mr.  White  served  the  University  without  any 
compensation  for  a  period  of  fully  thirty  years.  He  was 
cautious,  attentive  to  details,  well  versed  in  financial  affairs, 
and  thoroughly  interested  in  everything  that  promoted  the 
welfare  of  the  institution  with  whose  entire  history  he  was 


34      THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

intimately  acquainted.  When  in  town  he  was  in  attendance 
almost  every  day  at  the  office  of  the  University.  He  is 
entitled  to  credit  and  remembrance  as  a  citizen  who  gave 
to  the  services  of  the  public  the  best  of  his  powers,  without 
any  sort  of  pecuniary  recognition  or  advantage.  One  of  the 
professorships  is  named  after  him,  in  recognition  of  a  gift 
of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  in  addition  to  several  gifts 
of  less  amount. 

Two  of  the  nephews  of  Johns  Hopkins,  William  and 
Lewis  N.,  were  respectively  the  secretaries  of  the  two 
boards.  They  did  not  undertake  many  arduous  duties  in 
the  management,  but  their  interest  was  unflagging.  The 
suggestions  of  Lewis,  the  younger  one  of  these  two  cousins, 
were  sometimes  of  great  sagacity.  For  example — if  I 
am  not  mistaken — it  was  he  who  first  thought  that  it  might 
be  possible  to  induce  the  city  to  purchase  the  estate  at  Clif- 
ton. Like  Francis  White,  he  was  a  graduate  of  Haverford 
College. 

Dr.  John  Fonerden  was  another  of  the  original  board. 
He  was  a  physician,  highly  respected,  who  died  before  the 
organisation  of  the  University. 

His  place  was  filled  by  the  choice  of  Dr.  James  Carey 
Thomas,  who  became  one  of  the  most  active,  suggestive,  and 
devoted  members  of  the  board.  His  mind  was  so  consti- 
tuted that  he  could  maintain  a  living  interest  in  a  great 
variety  of  subjects.  Partly  by  his  profession  as  a  medical 
practitioner,  and  partly  by  his  duties  as  a  minister  of  the 
Society  of  Friends,  he  was  brought  into  contact  with  "  all 
sorts  and  conditions  of  men."  He  knew  the  community 
well,  and  gathered  up,  to  the  great  advantage  of  the  Uni- 
versity, the  opinions  and  comments  which  were  afloat.  While 
his  services  were  manifold,  especially  in  the  promotion  of 
literature,  he  was  of  the  greatest  value  by  reason  of  his 
acquaintance  with  medical  men  and  the  requirements  of 
modern  medical  education.  He  was  an  important  factor 


JOHNS   HOPKINS  AND   HIS   TRUSTEES    35 

in  the  maintenance  of  close  relations  between  the  Hospital 
and  the  University,  and  in  the  advocacy  of  high  standards 
of  instruction.  He  also  took  a  deep  interest  in. the  promo- 
tion of  the  religious  welfare  of  the  students.  As  president 
of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  in  Baltimore, 
he  brought  over  to  the  University  many  of  its  methods; 
and  in  social  gatherings,  sometimes  at  his  house  and  some- 
times in  the  University  rooms,  he  exerted  an  influence  for 
good  which  has  never  been  surpassed,  if  it  has  been  equalled, 
by  that  of  anyone  else.  He  might  truly  be  called  "  an  all- 
round  man."  He  was  never  wearied,  never  dull,  never 
negligent,  always  responsive,  always  cordial,  and  always 
considerate,  even  toward  those  from  whom  he  differed. 

Another  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends  selected  by 
Johns  Hopkins  was  Thomas  M.  Smith.  At  the  time  when 
the  University  was  organised  his  health  was  impaired,  and 
before  long  he  was  removed  by  death,  so  that  his  influence 
upon  the  institution  was  slight. 

It  remains  to  speak  of  Mr.  John  W.  Garrett,  who  was 
for  many  years  foremost  among  the  citizens  of  Baltimore, 
partly  because  of  his  commanding  personality  and  uncom- 
mon ability,  and  partly  because  of  the  official  position  which 
he  held  as  president  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad, 
then  a  dominant  factor  in  the  business  of  the  community. 
Mr.  Garrett  had  been  a  student  in  Lafayette  College.  He 
had  seen  much  of  men  in  public  life,  and  had  been  an  ac- 
tive participant  in  the  railroad  activities  of  the  Civil  War. 
His  country  seat,  at  Montebello,  was  adjacent  to  that  of 
Johns  Hopkins.  They  were  close  friends,  and  must  have 
had  many  confidential  talks  with  respect  to  the  proposed 
foundations.  In  the  early  days  of  the  University  Mr.  Gar- 
rett was  most  co-operative.  He  opened  his  house  to  the 
.  professors  and  lecturers,  as  they  came  on  from  time  to  time, 
and  in  other  ways  showed  his  strong  desire  for  the  suc- 
cess of  the  institution.  Unfortunately  he  differed  in  opin- 


36      THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

ion  from  most  of  the  trustees  regarding  the  policy  which 
should  be  pursued  in  the  construction  of  buildings  in  the 
heart  of  Baltimore.  This  alienated  him  from  active  serv- 
ice, and  before  the  controversy  was  closed  his  health  be- 
came seriously  impaired,  and  his  death  soon  followed. 

The  persons  now  mentioned  (excepting  Dr.  Thomas  and 
Mr.  Stewart)  were  members  of  the  original  board.  Among 
those  who  followed  them  and  are  no  longer  living,  mention 
should  be  made  of  Mr.  J.  Hall  Pleasants,  who  was  chair- 
man of  the  building  committee  when  several  of  the  most 
important  structures  were  built;  Dr.  Alan  P.  Smith,  a 
well-known  surgeon,  descendant  of  a  long  line  of  eminent 
physicians  whose  names  are  identified  with  the  history  of 
American  medicine;  and  Mr.  William  T.  Dixon,  an  excellent 
successor  to  Mr.  King  in  the  presidency  of  the  Hospi- 
tal board.  Among  those  who  are  living  I  will  only  mention 
Mr.  James  L.  McLane,  fourth  President  of  the  Board  of 
Trustees. 

The  original  board  included  two  judges  of  the  Supreme 
Court  in  Baltimore,  two  other  members  who  belonged 
to  the  legal  profession,  one  physician  (who  was  also  a 
minister  of  the  Society  of  Friends) ;  and  seven  who  were 
in  business.  During  the  Civil  War  the  majority  had  been, 
like  the  founder,  Union  men;  but  the  temper  of  all  was 
conciliatory,  peace-loving,  and  disposed  to  heal  the  divi- 
sions which  had  rent  society  in  twain.  Seven  were  Friends, 
four  were  attendants  at  Episcopal  churches,  and  one  was 
an  Independent  Presbyterian.  I  never  knew  ecclesiastical 
preferences  to  govern  the  action  of  a  single  member  of  the 
board.  Nearly  all  of  them  had  received  a  college  educa- 
tion, or  its  equivalent. 

When  the  last  will  and  testament  of  the  founder  was 
proved,  the  work  of  the  trustees  began,  and  they  took  it 
up  with  the  zest  of  discoverers.  They  had  a  full  treasury,  a 
free  field,  a  lofty  purpose.  They  began  by  collecting 


JOHNS   HOPKINS  AND  HIS  TRUSTEES    37 

books  on  university  education,  including  histories  of  insti- 
tutions. They  opened  correspondence  with  good  authori- 
ties. Several  of  them  visited  Harvard,  Yale,  Cornell,  Ann 
Arbor,  and  Charlottesville,  two  of  the  oldest,  three  of  the 
youngest  of  American  institutions.  They  invited  three 
men  of  great  experience  to  visit  Baltimore,  and  they  ques- 
tioned them,  minutely,  in  the  presence  of  a  shorthand 
writer,  in  respect  to  all  the  problems  which  then  exercised 
their  minds.  Finally  they  selected  a  president,  whose  name 
(without  his  knowledge)  had  been  independently  suggested 
to  them  by  several  of  their  counsellors.  They  acceded  to 
his  request  for  a  personal  interview  before  they  committed 
themselves,  and  he  came  on  from  California  to  see  them. 
He  has  a  distinct  remembrance  of  that  important  meet- 
ing. It  occurred  in  the  front  room  of  the  second  story  of 
a  building  (destroyed  in  the  great  fire)  on  North  Charles 
Street,  above  a  store  in  which  Bibles  were  sold,  hence  called 
"  The  Bible  House."  The  meeting  took  place  late  in  the 
afternoon  of  December  29,  1874.  All  the  trustees  except 
Mr.  Gwinn,  who  was  ill,  were  present.  They  were  a  very 
sedate,  perhaps  they  might  be  called  a  very  solemn,  body. 
After  the  candidate  had  been  personally  introduced  to  every 
one  of  them,  he  was  requested  to  give  his  impressions  of 
the  situation,  which  had  been  explained  to  him  on  the  pre- 
vious evening  by  Mr.  Johnson,  Mr.  Cheston,  Mr.  King, 
Dr.  Thomas,  and,  possibly,  one  or  two  others.  In  these 
remarks  he  said  that,  if  the  purpose  of  the  trustees  was  sim- 
ply to  establish  another  college,  or  to  aim  only  at  local 
benefits,  the  problem  would  not  interest  him;  but  if  they 
would  seize  the  opportunity  to  establish  a  university  which 
should  extend  its  influence  far  and  wide,  throughout  the 
land,  it  would  be  a  privilege,  as  well  as  an  honour,  to  be 
associated  in  the  work;  without  regard  to  their  political, 
sectional,  or  ecclesiastical  belongings,  the  best  professors 
should  be  brought  together,  and  the  most  advanced  stu- 


38      THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

dents  should  be  invited  to  follow  their  instructions.  The 
trustees  heartily  responded  to  these  views;  and  in  a  meet- 
ing the  next  day,  when  the  candidate  was  not  present,  they 
chose  him  to  be  their  leader.  Having  been  released  from 
the  service  of  the  University  of  California,  the  president- 
elect came  to  the  East  early  in  the  following  spring. 


FUNDAMENTAL   PRINCIPLES 


Ill 

FUNDAMENTAL   PRINCIPLES 

THE  public  were  naturally  impatient  to  know  what  sort 
of  an  institution  was  to  be  established  in  Baltimore,  and 
accordingly  on  the  1st  of  January,  1876,  the  following  an- 
nouncement was  made  of  fundamental  principles  by  which 
it  was  proposed  that  the  new  institution  should  be  governed. 
It  is  of  interest  to  enquire  how  closely  these  positions  have 
been  maintained,  but  the  answer  I  leave  for  others. 

It  is  the  desire  of  the  authorities,  I  said  at  that  time 
(speaking  in  the  name  of  the  Trustees),  that  the  institution 
now  taking  shape  should  forever  be  free  from  the  influences 
of  ecclesiasticism  or  partisanship,  as  those  terms  are  used 
in  narrow  and  controversial  senses;  that  all  departments  of 
learning, — mathematical,  scientific,  literary,  historical,  phil- 
osophical,— should  be  promoted,  as  far  as  the  funds  at 
command  will  permit,  the  new  departments  of  research  re- 
ceiving full  attention,  while  the  traditional  are  not  slighted; 
that  the  instructions  should  be  as  thorough,  as  advanced  and 
as  special  as  the  intellectual  condition  of  the  country  will 
permit ;  that  the  glory  of  the  University  should  rest  upon  the 
character  of  the  teachers  and  scholars  here  brought  together, 
and  not  upon  their  number,  nor  upon  the  buildings  con- 
structed for  their  use;  that  its  sphere  of  influence  should 
be  national,  while  at  the  same  time  all  the  local  institutions 
of  education  and  science  should  be  quickened  by  its  power; 
and  finally  that  among  the  professional  departments,  special 
attention  should  be  first  given  to  the  sciences  bearing  upon 
medicine,  surgery,  and  hygiene,  for  which  some  provision 

41 


42      THE   LAUNCHING   OF  A  UNIVERSITY 

has  been  made  by  the  munificent  gift  of  our  founder  to 
establish  The  Johns  Hopkins  Hospital. 

The  selection  of  professors  and  teachers  upon  whom  will 
devolve  the  instruction  of  youth,  the  chief  work  of  the 
University,  is  peculiarly  difficult  because  there  are  here  no 
traditions  for  guidance,  no  usages  in  respect  to  the  distribu- 
tion of  subjects,  and  none  in  respect  to  the  kind  of  instruction 
to  be  given ;  and  also  because  the  plans  of  the  Trustees  must 
depend  very  much  upon  the  character  of  the  teachers  whom 
they  bring  together. 

A  very  large  number  of  candidates  have  been  suggested 
to  the  Trustees ;  but  among  them  all  there  are  but  a  few  who 
have  attained  distinction  as  investigators  or  as  teachers.  Most 
of  those  whose  names  have  been  thus  presented  are  young 
men,  usually  of  much  promise,  who  have  not  yet  had  an 
opportunity  to  show  their  intellectual  power  in  any  depart- 
ment of  higher  instruction;  and  yet  among  this  very  class 
a  discerning  choice  will  doubtless  discover  those  who  are 
soon  to  be  the  men  of  scientific  and  literary  renown.  The 
Trustees  promise  to  open  freely  the  doors  of  promotion  to 
those  young  men  who  seem  to  be  capable  of  the  highest  work, 
— appointing  them  at  first  for  restricted  and  definite  periods. 
Moreover  they  hope  for  a  while  to  gain  much  of  the  influence 
and  co-operation  of  older  and  more  distinguished  men  by  in- 
viting one  and  another  to  come  here  from  time  to  time  with 
courses  of  lectures.  But  the  idea  is  not  lost  sight  of  that 
the  power  of  the  University  will  depend  upon  the  character 
of  its  resident  staff  of  permanent  professors.  It  is  their 
researches  in  the  library  and  the  laboratory ;  their  utterances 
in  the  classroom  and  in  private;  their  example  as  students 
and  investigators,  and  as  champions  of  the  truth;  their  pub- 
lications, through  the  journals  and  the  scientific  treatises, 
which  will  make  the  University  of  Baltimore  an  attraction 
to  the  best  students,  and  serviceable  to  the  intellectual  growth 
of  the  land. 


FUNDAMENTAL  PRINCIPLES  43 

In  selecting  a  staff  of  teachers,  the  Trustees  have  deter- 
mined to  consider  especially  the  devotion  of  the  candidate 
to  some  particular  line  of  study  and  the  certainty  of  his 
eminence  in  that  specialty;  the  power  to  pursue  independent 
and  original  investigation,  and  to  ( inspire  the  young  with 
enthusiasm  for  study  and  research;  the  willingness  to  co- 
operate in  building  up  a  new  institution;  and  the  freedom 
from  tendencies  toward  ecclesiastical  or  sectional  contro- 
versies. The  Trustees  will  not  be  governed  by  denomi- 
national or  geographical  considerations  in  the  appointment  of 
any  teacher;  but  will  endeavour  to  select  the  best  person 
whose  services  they  can  secure  in  the  position  to  be  filled, 
irrespective  of  the  place  where  he  was  born,  or  the  college 
in  which  he  was  trained,  or  the  religious  body  with  which 
he  has  been  enrolled. 


THE  ORIGINAL  FACULTY 


IV* 

THE  ORIGINAL  FACULTY 

IN  the  future  an  antiquary  with  such  powers  as  those  of 
James  Ford  Rhodes  may  delve  among  the  catalogues,  reports 
and  addresses  which  have  appeared  during  the  last  thirty 
years,  and  may  discuss  the  progress  of  higher  education  dur- 
ing that  eventful  period,  as  Mr.  Rhodes  has  treated  of 
political  affairs  since  the  Compromise  of  1850.  Such  a 
writer  has  not  yet  appeared  in  the  domain  of  education, 
although  a  vast  amount  of  material  has  been  collected  for 
him  by  Dr.  Harris  and  his  predecessors  in  the  Government 
Bureau  at  Washington.  If  the  antiquary  is  thorough  he 
will  discover,  and  if  he  is  just  he  will  acknowledge  the  influ- 
ence of  the  Johns  Hopkins  University  upon  the  development 
of  American  Universities.  I  have  been  too  close  an  observer, 
too  confidential  a  participant  in  its  affairs  to  undertake 
the  historian's  task.  I  stand  too  near  to  the  partners,  and 
am  bound  to  them  by  ties  of  personal  friendship  and  of 
official  intimacy;  I  have  been  too  familiar  with  their  aspir- 
ations and  endeavours,  their  disappointments  and  successes, 
to  estimate  their  worth,  and  if  I  made  the  attempt,  I  should 
probably  dwell  on  minor  incidents  and  entertaining  anecdotes 
which  made  a  strong  impression  at  the  time,  but  are  of  no 
lasting  significance.  I  will,  nevertheless,  add  some  further 
reminiscences  of  a  veteran  observer. 

Those  of  us  who  initiated,  in  1876,  the  methods  of  in- 
struction and  government  in  the  new  foundation  at  Balti- 
more were  young  men.  Sylvester  alone  had  more  than  three 
score  years  to  his  credit.  Gildersleeve  and  I,  now  patriarchs, 
were  forty-five  years  old.  Morris  was  a  little  older.  Remsen, 

47 


48      THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

Rowland,  and  Martin  were  not  thirty  years  of  age.  The 
original  Associates,  many  of  whom  became  leaders  in  their 
several  departments  of  study,  Adams,  Brooks,  Cross,  Elliott, 
Hastings,  Morse,  Scott,  were  still  younger.  All  were  full 
of  youthful  enthusiasm  and  energy.  There  were  none  to 
say,  "  This  is  not  our  way  " ;  none  to  fasten  on  our  ankles 
the  fetters  of  academic  usage.  Duty,  youth,  hope,  ambition, 
and  the  love  of  work  were  on  our  side.  Laboratories  were 
to  be  constructed,  instruments  and  books  to  be  bought,  col- 
leagues and  assistants  to  be  chosen,  regulations  to  be  form- 
ulated, conditions  of  admission,  promotion  and  graduation 
to  be  determined,  plans  of  study  to  be  matured. 

As  I  have  intimated,  we  brought  to  the  council  room 
many  prejudices  and  preferences  derived  from  our  previous 
training  and  from  our  personal  idiosyncracies.  Two  of  the 
staff  had  been  professors  in  the  University  of  Virginia,  two 
had  been  Fellows  in  the  great  English  universities,  two  had 
received  degrees  in  German  universities  and  others  had 
studied  abroad,  two  had  been  connected  with  New  England 
colleges,  two  had  been  teachers  in  scientific  schools,  and  one 
had  been  at  the  head  of  a  State  university.  Our  discussions 
were  free  and  familiar,  as  of  friends  around  a  council  board. 
It  was  rarely,  if  ever,  necessary  to  "  make  a  motion  "  or  to 
put  a  question  to  the  vote.  By  processes  well  known  to 
Friends,  "  the  sense  of  the  meeting  "  was  taken  and  recorded. 

It  was  our  dominant  purpose  to  hold  on  to  the  principles 
and  adhere  to  the  methods  which  experience  had  established 
in  this  and  in  other  countries,  and  at  the  same  time  to  keep 
free  from  the  slavery  of  traditions  and  conditions  which  are 
often  more  embarrassing  and  retarding  than  positive  laws. 
We  often  reminded  one  another  that  the  rule  of  to-day  was 
liable  to  become  the  custom  of  to-morrow,  the  immemorial 
usage  of  next  month,  the  iron-clad  law  of  the  future,  and  we 
tried  to  preserve  spontaneity  of  action,  not  only  for  ourselves, 
but  for  our  successors.  "  Evolution  "  was  then  beginning 


THE   ORIGINAL   FACULTY  49 

to  be  the  note  of  the  times,  and  our  best  advisers  urged  upon 
us  "  Development."  "  Be  slow,"  they  said,  "  plant  good 
seeds  and  see  what  they  yield."  So  we  did  not  undertake 
to  establish  a  German  university,  nor  an  English  university, 
but  an  American  university,  based  upon  and  applied  to  the 
existing  institutions  of  this  country.  Not  only  did  we  have 
no  model  to  be  followed ;  we  did  not  even  draw  up  a  scheme 
or  programme  for  the  government  of  ourselves,  our  asso- 
ciates and  successors.  For  a  long  time  our  proceedings  were 
"  tentative,"  and  this  term  was  used  so  often  that  it  became 
a  by-word  for  merriment.  Such  considerations  carried  with 
them  this  corollary.  Every  head  of  a  department  was 
allowed  the  utmost  freedom  in  its  development,  subject  only 
to  such  control  as  was  necessary  for  harmonious  co-operation. 
He  could  select  his  own  assistants,  choose  his  own  books  and 
apparatus,  devise  his  own  plans  of  study, — always  provided 
that  he  worked  in  concord  with  his  fellows.  To  secure  this 
concord  and  the  support  of  the  Trustees,  it  was  necessary 
that  close  relations  should  be  kept  up  with  the  President, 
and  that  wishes  and  wants,  purposes  and  plans,  should  be 
freely  talked  over  with  him.  As  the  University  grew,  it 
was  not  so  easy  to  maintain  this  usage,  but  it  was  maintained, 
and  is  still  a  most  serviceable  feature  in  the  adminis- 
tration. 

The  Trustees  wisely  refrained  from  interference  with  the 
faculty,  to  whom  the  government  and  instruction  of  the 
students  was  entrusted.  The  Trustees  made  the  appoint- 
ments, it  is  true,  but  they  were  always  guided  by  the  counsel 
of  the  President  and  professors.  They  awarded  the  degrees, 
the  scholarships  and  the  fellowships,  but  only  on  the  nomi- 
nation and  recommendation  of  the  academic  staff.  The 
professors,  on  the  other  hand,  had  no  part  in  the  financial 
management.  They  were  not  consulted  in  respect  to  invest- 
ments: they  did  not  fix  the  salaries  nor  the  appropriations 
for  the  library  and  apparatus.  In  the  construction  of  build- 


50      THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

ings  their  wishes  were  paramount,  their  advice  indispensable ; 
but  the  building  contracts  were  in  the  hands,  exclusively,  of 
the  trustees. 

An  enormous  number  of  applications  for  professorships 
were  received,  and  filed;  but  I  do  not  think  they  had  much 
weight  with  the  Trustees,  who,  according  to  their  promises, 
kept  themselves  aloof  from  all  dangerous  entanglements,  and 
were  determined  to  make  their  selections  with  sole  regard 
to  the  welfare  of  the  University.  They  preferred  to  con- 
sult, confidentially,  those  on  whose  judgment  they  relied, 
rather  than  to  be  governed  by  the  written  endorsements  and 
recommendations  which  came  by  every  mail,  often  supported 
by  strong  personal  influence.  Of  this  I  have  previously 
spoken.  As  I  speak  elsewhere  at  length  of  Sylvester  and 
Rowland,  I  will  here  quote  what  is  said  of  them  in  Professor 
Simon  Newcomb's  "  Reminiscences." 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  mathematicians  of  the  age,  Professor 
J.  J.  Sylvester,  had  recently  severed  his  connection  with  the  Royal 
Military  Academy  at  Woolwich,  and  it  had  been  decided  to  invite 
him  to  the  chair  of  mathematics  at  the  new  University.  It  was  con- 
sidered desirable  to  have  men  of  similar  world-wide  eminence  in 
charge  of  the  other  departments  in  science.  But  this  was  found  to 
be  impracticable,  and  the  policy  adopted  was  to  find  young  men 
whose  reputation  was  yet  to  be  made,  and  who  would  be  the  lead- 
ing men  of  the  future,  instead  of  belonging  to  the  past. 

All  my  experience  would  lead  me  to  say  that  the  selection  of  the 
coming  man  in  science  is  almost  as  difficult  as  the  selection  of  the 
youth  who  are  to  become  senators  of  the  United  States.  The  suc- 
cess of  the  university  in  finding  the  young  men  it  wanted  has  been 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  features  of  the  Johns  Hopkins  Univer- 
sity. Of  this  the  lamented  Rowland  affords  the  most  striking,  but 
by  no  means  the  only  instance.  Few  could  have  anticipated  that 
the  modest  and  scarcely  known  youth  selected  for  the  chair  of 
physics  would  not  only  become  the  leading  man  of  his  profession  in 
our  country,  but  one  of  the  chief  promoters  of  scientific  research 
among  us.  Mathematical  study  and  research  of  the  highest  order 
now  commenced,  not  only  at  Baltimore,  but  at  Harvard,  Columbia, 
and  other  centres  of  learning,  until,  to-day,  we  are  scarcely  behind 
any  nation  in  our  contributions  to  the  subject. 


THE   ORIGINAL   FACULTY  51 

It  sometimes  seemed  as  if  Sylvester  was  the  youngest  of 
the  academic  council,  so  exuberant  was  he  in  suggestion,  so 
unexpected  and  emphatic  in  his  counsels,  so  proud  of  his 
pupils,  so  irascible  and  so  conciliatory.  Every  step  forward 
that  he  took  in  his  chosen  department  of  mathematics  de- 
lighted him,  as  an  explorer  is  delighted  with  the  discovery 
of  a  mountain  peak  or  a  hidden  source.  Every  promising 
follower  seemed  to  him  a  genius. 

Ample  recognition  of  his  eminence  as  a  mathematician  has 
been  given  in  the  public  notices  of  his  life,  especially  in  the 
biographical  address  delivered  in  Baltimore  by  his  younger 
colleague  and  associate,  Professor  Fabian  Franklin,  and  in 
a  compact  notice  that  is  printed  in  the  "  National  Dictionary 
of  Biography."  It  was  always  a  wonder  to  me  that  a  person 
of  such  acknowledged  pre-eminence  received  no  academic 
distinction  during  his  long  residence  in  this  country;  and  I 
have  never  been  quite  satisfied  as  to  the  reasons  why  this  was 
so.  He  proved  to  be  a  most  stimulating  associate  and  teacher. 
His  enthusiasm  was  unfailing,  and  when  he  was  called,  seven 
years  later,  to  the  University  of  Oxford,  as  Savilian  Pro- 
fessor, he  declared  that  his  residence  in  Baltimore  had  been 
the  most  quickening  and  prolific  period  of  his  intellectual 
life. 

As  already  stated,  it  was  about  this  time  that  the  modern 
methods  of  studying  animal  and  vegetable  life  were  coming 
into  vogue.  The  name  of  "  biology  "  had  been  introduced 
into  English  parlance  by  Professor  Huxley,  and  it  had  almost 
eliminated  the  old  term  "  natural  history."  Looking  forward 
to  the  establishment  of  a  School  of  Medicine,  it  was  clear 
that  a  preparatory  study  of  the  biological  sciences  should  be 
encouraged  by  methods  superior  to  any  which  were  then 
employed  in  this  country,  and  of  far  greater  comprehensive- 
ness. There  was  in  Cambridge  University  a  promising  stu- 
dent of  physiology,  the  pupil  of  Michael  Foster  and  the 
assistant  of  Professor  Huxley,  Henry  Newell  Martin,  a 


52      THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

graduate  of  London  University  and  of  the  University  of 
Cambridge.  He  was  well  acquainted  with  all  the  newer 
methods  of  physiological  research.  He  had  won  many 
honours  and  was  regarded  as  one  of  the  coming  men  in  his 
chosen  field.  He  came  to  Baltimore  and  established  the  first 
American  biological  laboratory.  A  score  of  successors  fol- 
lowed. The  advances  of  science  since  that  date  have  called 
for  so  much  subdivision  that  the  term  "  biology  "  is  falling 
into  disuse ;  but,  as  it  was  employed  at  that  time,  and  is  still 
employed  to  a  considerable  extent,  it  meant  the  study  of  the 
structure  and  functions  of  living  plants  and  animals.  It  is 
now  hard  to  believe  what  prejudices  then  prevailed  in  respect 
to  "  biology."  The  science  was  dreaded  as  if  it  were  to 
overthrow,  or  at  least  to  undermine,  religious  belief.  To 
this  study  Dr.  Martin  gave  a  noteworthy  impulse,  and  the 
methods  which  he  introduced  were  soon  followed  in  other 
parts  of  the  country.  In  the  Johns  Hopkins  University  it 
was  soon  determined  that  no  one  should  be  encouraged  to 
enter  upon  the  study  of  medicine  without  a  careful  previous 
training  in  a  physiological  laboratory.  The  improvements 
now  common  in  medical  schools  are  largely  based  upon  the 
recognition  of  the  principle  that  living  creatures,  in  their 
normal  and  healthy  aspects,  should  be  studied  before  the 
phenomena  and  treatment  of  disease,  and  credit  should  always 
be  given  to  Dr.  Martin  for  the  skill  with  which  he  intro- 
duced among  Americans  the  best  methods  of  study. 

Another  Englishman  was  added  to  the  faculty.  Professor 
Charles  D'Urban  Morris,  a  graduate  of  the  University  of 
Oxford  and  a  fellow  of  Oriel  College.  He  had  acquired  a 
high  reputation  as  an  enthusiastic  teacher  of  boys,  and  in 
order  that  a  love  of  the  classics  might  be  introduced  among 
undergraduates,  he  was  invited  to  become  the  Collegiate 
Proiessor  of  Latin  and  Greek.  He  was  a  man  of  fine  pres- 
ence and  of  noble  character,  but,  for  some  reason  or  other, 
the  times  seemed  to  be  against  him,  and  the  number  of  stu- 


THE   ORIGINAL   FACULTY  53 

dents  who  elected  his  courses  was  never  very  large.  He 
brought  to  Baltimore,  however,  the  best  traditions  of  an 
English  university,  and  among  other  valuable  suggestions 
which  he  made  was  the  appointment  of  advisers  to  small 
groups  of  students,  so  that  every  one  of  them  might  be  guided 
in  the  choice  of  his  studies  by  a  qualified  friend.  The  office 
of  tutor  in  the  American  colleges  had  then  fallen  into  dis- 
repute, because  large  classes  of  students  were  assigned  to  the 
guidance  of  inexperienced  teachers,  whose  relations  were 
often  quite  perfunctory,  and  whose  strength  was  often 
absorbed  by  professional  studies  carried  on  simultaneously 
with  the  duties  of  the  tutorial  office.  The  word  "  adviser  " 
was  therefore  used  in  place  of  "  tutor,"  but  many  of  the 
functions  which  pertain  to  the  English  tutorial  system  were 
transferred  to  these  "  advisers."  The  need  of  such  officers 
is  now  generally  recognised,  and  I  cannot  but  regard  the 
introduction  of  the  "  preceptor  system,"  announced  at 
Princeton,  as,  in  some  degree  at  least,  due  to  the  conditions 
which  were  known  to  President  Woodrow  Wilson  during 
his  residence  in  Baltimore. 

I  cannot  speak  freely  of  the  immense  influence  that  was 
exercised  in  the  development  of  the  plans  of  the  Johns  Hop- 
kins University  by  Professor  Gildersleeve  and  Professor 
Remsen,  because  they  are  both  living  and  both  serving  the  uni- 
versity with  increasing  ability  and  increasing  influence.  For 
more  than  twenty-five  years  they  were  the  chief  counsellors 
of  the  President,  and  the  authorities  upon  whose  wisdom 
and  knowledge  the  Trustees  relied  for  advice.  At  the  time 
of  his  appointment,  Professor  Gildersleeve  had  acquired 
great  distinction  in  the  University  of  Virginia.  Notwith- 
standing the  extremities  of  war,  he  had  never  lost  the  habits 
of  the  scholar  who  had  been  well  trained  in  Gottingen.  His 
removal  to  Baltimore  gave  him  an  opportunity  to  prosecute 
his  studies  under  favourable  conditions.  He  had  free  access 
to  books  and  journals.  He  came  into  easy  relations  with 


54      THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

other  scholars.  He  was  soon  surrounded  by  an  enthusiastic 
company  of  Grecians,  whom  he  taught  by  what  was  known  as 
the  Seminary  method.  He  instituted  a  Journal  of  Phil- 
ology, which  became  the  repository  of  his  own  contributions, 
as  well  as  of  the  papers  prepared  for  its  pages  by  other  com- 
petent writers.  He  edited  Pindar  with  so  much  ability  as 
to  attract  the  unqualified  praises  of  some  of  the  foremost 
scholars  in  England  and  on  the  Continent.  His  love  of 
literature  and  his  acquaintance  with  the  best  writers,  ancient 
and  modern,  gave  him  great  weight  in  all  our  discussions 
in  respect  to  letters  and  language,  and  he  was  looked  up  to 
as  an  authority,  whose  learning  could  be  relied  upon  and 
whose  criticisms  were  sure  to  be  governed  by  the  very  best 
standards.  He  held  in  this  respect  the  foremost  position,  and 
there  was  no  second. 

The  services  which  the  University  received  from  Professor 
Gildersleeve  in  the  promotion  of  literature  had  their  parallel 
in  the  services  of  Professor  Remsen,  who  afterward  succeeded 
to  the  office  of  President.  Like  Professor  Gildersleeve, 
after  completing  his  introductory  studies  in  this  country, 
he  had  become  familiar  with  the  methods  of  German  science, 
by  long  residence  in  Gottingen  and  Tubingen.  While  a 
professor  in  Williams  College,  of  chemistry  and  physics, 
he  had  begun  to  publish  papers  upon  chemistry  which  evinced 
so  much  ability  that  his  appointment  was  strongly  recom- 
mended to  the  Trustees  by  authorities  that  could  not  be  dis- 
puted. His  distinction  as  a  chemist  has  been  constantly 
growing  from  that  time  to  this,  and  has  been  recognised  by 
many  honourable  appointments.  His  influence  in  the  Uni- 
versity was  not  restricted  to  the  conduct  of  his  laboratory 
and  the  promotion  of  his  favourite  science.  He  was  a  man 
who  took  broad  views  of  education,  and  he  was  a  good 
counsellor,  especially  in  all  that  pertained  to  the  scientific 
departments  of  study.  He  was  also  a  worthy  citizen,  ready 
at  any  time  to  lend  a  hand  for  the  promotion  of  civic  welfare. 


THE   ORIGINAL   FACULTY  55 

The  two  persons  last  mentioned  are  still  living  and  active. 
May  this  long  be  the  case!  The  first  four  have  all  died. 
These  six  professors  with  the  President  constituted  the 
original  Academic  Council.  Younger  men  have  taken  the 
places  of  those  who  are  gone;  but  the  original  seven  must 
be  considered  as  the  initiators  of  the  work  of  instruction. 

I  must  not  fail  to  mention  that  the  incipient  University 
had  several  excellent  counsellors  whose  names  do  not  appear 
upon  the  academic  staff.  President  Eliot  was  one  of  those 
who  frequently  visited  Baltimore,  was  always  ready  to  reply 
to  an  inquiry  or  to  give  counsel  when  requested,  and,  by  his 
character,  experience  and  disposition,  was  one  of  the  most 
serviceable  of  the  outside  friends  of  the  University. 

Professor  Wolcott  Gibbs,  in  the  earliest  days,  was  invited 
to  become  a  professor  in  the  University,  and  listened  favour- 
ably to  our  proposals ;  but  he  finally  declined  them  on  account 
of  his  desire  to  be  quite  free  from  academic  duties.  "  Take 
Remsen  and  Rowland,"  was  his  advice.  From  him  came 
the  suggestion  that  Sir  William  Thomson,  now  Lord 
Kelvin,  might  be  invited  to  Baltimore. 

We  had  many  other  excellent  friends  in  Cambridge, 
Professors  B.  Peirce,  Lowell,  Child,  Lane,  Goodwin,  Picker- 
ing, and  Trowbridge  among  the  number ;  and  in  New  Haven 
I  gratefully  recall  the  kind  offices  of  Professors  Brush  and 
Whitney,  and  of  Dr.  Francis  Bacon. 

Nor  can  I  fail  to  remember  the  constant  co-operation  of 
Professor  Simon  Newcomb,  who  did  not  join  our  staff  until 
after  the  departure  of  Professor  Sylvester,  but  who  was 
an  occasional  lecturer  and  a  friend  and  adviser,  from  the 
earliest  days. 

While  I  am  thinking  of  those  who  encouraged  us  at  that 
time,  I  am  especially  mindful  of  Mr.  S.  Teackle  Wallis, 
a  leader  at  the  Baltimore  bar,  a  lover  of  letters,  and  a  public 
speaker  of  great  distinction,  who  was  unfailing  in  his  sup- 
port of  the  institution  in  which  his  friends,  Judge  Dobbin 


56      THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

and  Judge  Brown,  were  prominent  managers.  On  a  public 
occasion  he  delivered  a  most  noteworthy  address.  Mr. 
William  T.  Walters  was  always  ready  to  open  his  famous 
galleries  to  the  professors  and  students,  and  to  extend  to 
them  courtesies  which  were  very  gratifying.  Almost  from 
the  earliest  days,  Mr.  William  W.  Spence  was  our  valued 
friend.  He  opened  his  house  and  his  purse  with  great  gen- 
erosity, and  his  sympathetic  presence  on  public  occasions  was 
a  constant  encouragement.  In  later  days,  Mr.  William 
Keyser  was  one  of  the  very  best  supporters  of  the  University. 
The  house  of  his  uncle,  Mr.  Samuel  G.  Wyman,  was  the 
abode  of  generous  hospitality.  Hon.  Ferdinand  C.  Latrobe, 
repeatedly  mayor  of  the  city,  and  his  father,  the  Honourable 
John  H.  B.  Latrobe,  never  lost  an  opportunity  to  co-operate 
with  us.  Through  the  agency  of  the  son,  while  mayor,  our 
first  great  gift  of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  was  received 
from  Mrs.  Donovan. 


SOME  NOTEWORTHY  TEACHERS 
NO  LONGER  LIVING 


V 

SOME   NOTEWORTHY  TEACHERS,  NO  LONGER  LIVING 

IT  cannot  be  too  frequently  brought  to  mind  that  the  merit 
of  a  university,  in  the  long  run,  depends  upon  the  men  who 
are  called  upon  to  conduct  it — upon  them  absolutely,  if  not 
exclusively,  for  although  the  teachers  must  have  such  auxil- 
iaries as  books  and  instruments,  books  are  nothing  but  paper 
and  ink  until  they  are  read,  and  instruments  but  brass  and 
glass  until  craft  and  skill  are  applied  to  the  handling.  So, 
after  a  university  has  been  launched,  eternal  vigilance  is 
requisite  in  order  that  the  highest  standards  may  be  kept 
up  when  new  appointments  are  made,  and  that  every  member 
of  the  faculty  may  receive  encouragement  and  help  in  the 
prosecution  of  his  studies.  I  do  not  think  that  what  is 
called  "  pull  "  has  had  much  to  do  with  appointments  in 
American  institutions,  although  I  have  known  a  few  instances 
where  "  Pull "  and  "  Push,"  twin  reprobates,  interlopers 
from  other  fields,  have  been  invoked  in  behalf  of  university 
candidates.  As  a  rule,  aspirants  are  too  well  aware  that 
their  disqualifications  will  be  uncovered  if  "  Push "  and 
"  Pull  "  are  cross-questioned,  and  that  the  truest  evidence 
of  ability  is  not  found  in  the  testimonials  of  friendship,  but 
in  records  of  the  past — personal,  domestic,  and  scholastic 
antecedents — discipline,  examinations,  writings,  investigations, 
prizes,  honours.  Work  performed  is  the  surety  of  work  that 
will  be  performed  in  future.  Even  without  the  interference 
of  "  Push  "  and  "  Pull,"  it  is  hard  to  discover  the  best  men, 
and  hard  to  capture  them  when  they  are  discovered.  There 
is  a  still  greater  difficulty  in  educing  from  every  professor 

59 


60      THE   LAUNCHING   OF  A   UNIVERSITY 

the  best  of  which  he  is  capable.  The  country  is  full  of  cases 
so  similar  that  they  might  be  presented  in  the  form  of  a 
mathematical  formula.  The  young  man  of  talent,  especially 
when  under  the  inspiration  of  a  strong  mind,  rises  rapidly, 
buoyed  up  by  hope  and  elated  by  praise.  He  gets  his  title; 
he  wins  his  wife;  he  opens  his  house;  hospitality  is  expected 
of  him;  children  come;  books  must  be  bought;  journeys  must 
be  made;  bills  must  be  paid;  in  fine,  the  pot  must  be  kept 
boiling.  The  salary  which  seemed  so  liberal  for  Bachelor 
proves  inadequate  for  Benedick.  Beatrice  makes  a  difference. 
Many  have  to  resort  to  expedients  in  order  to  get  the  neces- 
saries. Few  are  they  who  resist  the  levelling  tendency  of  this 
period;  who  rise  above  the  table-land  upon  which  they  are 
travelling,  and  reach  the  mountain-peaks. 

It  is  a  great  advantage  to  any  university  if  the  older  mem- 
bers of  the  faculty  are  those  who  drink  of  the  fountain  of 
perennial  youth — like  Peirce  and  Gray  in  Cambridge,  Silli- 
man  and  Dana  in  New  Haven,  the  Le  Contes  in  California, 
and  the  like — men  whose  enthusiasm  never  died  out,  whose 
mental  and  physical  vigour  remained  unabated,  and  who 
found  their  highest  pleasure  in  doing,  and  not  in  dozing. 
The  original  men  at  Baltimore  were  of  this  type.  Others 
like  them  have  followed.  Indeed,  we  have  been  fortunate, 
from  the  beginning,  in  having,  as  permanent  members  of  the 
faculty,  men  of  inspiring  qualities,  men  who  "  could  light 
their  own  fires  "  and  show  others  how  to  do  the  same — men 
who  never  were  tired  of  work. 

We  have  been  fortunate,  too,  in  our  guests.  It  is  of 
great  advantage  to  bring  into  an  academical  circle  men  from 
other  universities — observing,  critical,  suggestive,  familiar 
with  different  ways,  looking,  perhaps,  for  colleagues  or  for 
assistants,  asking  help,  answering  questions,  showing  methods. 
Whatever  may  be  the  conditions  in  other  countries,  I  have 
no  doubt  that  in  this  period  of  American  development  there 
are  great  advantages  in  calling  men  of  renown,  from  a 


SOME   NOTEWORTHY   TEACHERS         61 

distance,  into  the  intimacy  of  our  secluded,  if  not  cloistered, 
lives.  To  meet  other  travellers  is  almost  as  good  as  to 
travel  ourselves.  It  may  be  even  better. 

To  illustrate  these  principles,  I  shall  speak  of  some  note- 
worthy scholars  with  whom  we  have  been  in  familiar  rela- 
tions; but  I  shall  rarely  allude  to  any  who  are  living. 

The  winter  of  1876-77  was  memorable  in  Baltimore.  It 
was  an  era  of  good-feeling — of  great  expectations.  The  dif- 
ferences of  the  Civil  War  were  not  forgotten,  but  they  re- 
ceived no  emphasis.  The  new  foundation  was  welcomed  as 
an  agency  of  conciliation.  One  evening,  for  example,  there 
was  a  social  "  reunion  "  of  good  citizens  brought  together 
to  show  their  interest  in  and  their  respect  for  the  faculty  of 
this  incipient  University.  Men  of  all  shades  of  opinion  were 
assembled — Union  soldiers,  Confederate  soldiers,  judges, 
ministers,  doctors,  lawyers,  merchants,  bankers — the  prom- 
inent citizens — all  of  them  ready  to  welcome  an  institution 
devoted  to  science  and  letters.  "  We  have  had  no  such 
gathering,"  it  was  said,  "since  1861.  Men  are  here  who 
have  not  met  on  common  ground  since  the  election  of 
Lincoln."  This  was  an  auspicious  beginning,  never  to  be 
forgotten.  The  world  was  expectant,  everybody  was  in- 
quisitive, not  a  few  were  sceptical — some  may  have  been  dis- 
trustful, none  were  hostile. 

In  order  to  illustrate  the  activities  of  other  universities, 
and  to  secure  the  counsel  of  eminent  scholars  in  respect  to 
our  development,  the  decision  had  been  reached  already  that 
academic  lectures  on  various  important  and  attractive  themes 
should  be  opened  to  the  public,  and  that  the  professors  should 
come  from  institutions  of  acknowledged  merit  established  in 
the  North,  South,  and  West.  The  usages  of  the  College  de 
France  were  in  mind.  Thus  the  instructions  of  a  small 
faculty  were  to  be  supplemented  by  courses  which  should 
be  profitable  to  the  enrolled  students,  and  entertaining,  if 
not  serviceable,  to  the  educated  public.  Gildersleeve  and 


62      THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

Mallet,  the  Grecian  and  the  chemist,  were  representatives 
of  the  inimitable  methods  of  the  University  of  Virginia. 
Judge  Cooley,  the  constitutional  lawyer,  the  distinguished 
jurist,  came  from  the  great  State  University  of  Michigan; 
and  Allen,  the  classical-historian,  from  a  kindred  institution 
in  Wisconsin.  Harvard  loaned  to  us  its  two  leading  men  of 
letters,  Child  and  Lowell.  Whitney,  then  at  the  height  of 
his  renown,  came  from  Yale,  and  likewise  Francis  A.  Walker. 
Hilgard  and  Billings  represented  the  scientific  activities  of 
Washington — the  former  chosen  because  of  his  experience 
in  geodesy,  and  because  of  our  desire,  at  that  early  day,  to 
initiate  surveys  in  the  State  of  Maryland;  and  the  latter, 
because  of  his  acknowledged  distinction  in  medicine,  which 
was  soon  to  be  a  leading  department  of  study  among  us. 
Simon  Newcomb,  the  illustrious  astronomer,  was  another 
man  of  science  in  the  service  of  the  government. 

Each  course  included  twenty  lectures.  They  were  given 
in  a  hall  that  held  about  150  persons,  and  the  hour  was 
usually  five  o'clock.  Ladies  and  gentlemen  attended,  with- 
out enrolment  or  fees,  as  well  as  the  students  and  profes- 
sors of  the  University.  The  lecturers  were  accessible  to 
all  who  wished  to  confer  with  them,  and  many  among  us 
then  formed  friendships  which  lasted  until  the  ties  were 
severed  by  death.  Sometimes  bright  students  were  spotted 
by  these  visiting  professors,  and  afterward  invited  to  posi- 
tions of  usefulness  and  distinction  elsewhere — three  at  least 
to  Harvard. 

Ever  since  that  opening  session,  public  lectures  have  been 
given  on  the  plans  originally  projected,  somewhat  changed 
as  to  the  arrangements  from  time  to  time.  There  are  dif- 
ferences of  opinion  as  to  the  value  of  such  public  courses, 
but  I  firmly  believe  in  them,  not  because  they  promote  exact 
scholarship  or  incite  the  hearers  to  investigation  and  study, 
but  because  the  presence  of  an  invigorating  teacher,  present- 
ing the  best  results  of  his  thought,  is  inspiring  to  the 


SOME  NOTEWORTHY  TEACHERS        63 

younger,  stimulating  to  the  older,  lovers  of  knowledge. 
This  theme  requires  more  than  a  passing  paragraph,  but  I 
refrain  from  writing  more. 

I  have  made  no  count  of  the  lecturers  and  speakers  who 
have  spoken  in  Baltimore,  but  in  the  course  of  five-and- 
twenty  years  there  must  have  been  300 — some,  indeed,  giv- 
ing but  single  addresses,  like  Huxley,  Moissan,  and  Klein; 
others,  like  Cayley  and  Kelvin,  remaining  a  good  while. 
Thus  it  has  come  to  pass  that  I  have  met  upon  familiar 
terms  a  great  many  of  the  scholars  of  this  generation,  and 
have  learned  to  estimate  their  services  and  admire  their 
genius.  They  and  their  peers,  at  home  and  abroad,  are 
the  men  by  whose  learning,  investigation,  and  publications, 
society  is  carried  forward.  The  world  applauds  the  heroes 
of  great  struggles,  and  it  does  so  rightly;  it  showers  its 
plaudits  upon  the  orator;  it  witnesses,  breathless,  the 
achievements  of  surgeons;  it  calls  our  time  the  age  of 
electricity;  and  yet  it  is  prone  to  forget  or  overlook  the 
hidden  workers  of  the  laboratory  and  the  library,  the  quiet 
men  who  are  the  necessary  precursors  of  those  who  are  de- 
voted to  the  application  of  knowledge.  It  underpays  them 
while  they  are  in  service;  it  rarely  thinks  of  providing  pen- 
sions for  their  advancing  years,  or  of  giving  stipends  to  their 
families  when  premature  death  interrupts  activities;  the 
honours  it  bestows  are  the  empty  privileges  of  placing  after 
their  names  a  few  letters  of  the  alphabet  in  order  to  show 
their  academic  rank.  The  world  knows  little,  until  they 
are  ended,  of  the  anxieties  that  harass  the  scholar  when  he 
thinks  of  his  future  life — I  mean  his  future  life  here  below; 
it  cares  nothing  for  his  family.  But  these  quiet  men  of  the 
desk  and  the  den,  of  the  pen  and  the  book,  of  the  balance 
and  the  lens,  are  they  who  have  kept  alive  the  traditions  of 
literature  and  have  extended  the  bounds  of  science. 

An  English  mathematician,  lately  a  fellow  in  one  of  the 
colleges  of  the  University  of  Cambridge,  called  on  me  one 


64      THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

day  and  opened  the  conversation  with  this  pleasant  re- 
mark: "I  have  heard  a  great  deal  that  is  good  about 
Baltimore."  "  Indeed,"  I  replied,  "  and  pray,  what  have 
you  heard  ?  "  "  That  Baltimore  is  a  seaport  which  exports 
corn  and  imports  mathematics."  This  drollery  was 
founded  upon  fact.  The  newspapers  and  the  railroad  men 
of  the  day  were  loud  in  their  mention  of  "  our  terminal 
facilities  "  for  shipping  Western  grain  to  foreign  countries ; 
and  the  new  university  had  acquired  some  note  by  the  en- 
gagement of  the  two  most  famous  mathematicians  of  Eng- 
land— Sylvester  and  Cayley. 

Professor  Cayley,  of  the  University  of  Cambridge,  spent 
a  winter  in  Baltimore  and  endeared  himself  to  all  who  met 
him,  by  his  gentleness  and  consideration,  while  they  felt 
honoured  by  an  introduction  to  one  whose  renown  they 
could  appreciate,  though  they  could  not  follow  the  light 
he  was  carrying  into  the  mazes  of  modern  algebra,  and  had 
never  heard  of  the  Abelian  functions.  I  suppose  we  should 
never  have  secured  his  lectures  except  for  that  export  of 
grain  from  America,  in  which  Baltimore  had  its  share.  It 
was  this  way.  The  income  of  the  Sadlerian  professorship, 
which  he  held  in  the  University  of  Cambridge,  was  cut 
down  by  the  diminution  of  the  rents  that  maintained  it, 
and  the  rents  were  reduced  by  the  fall  in  the  price  of 
"  corn,"  due  to  the  importation  of  our  wheat  by  Great 
Britain. 

To  us  who  were  non-mathematical,  Cayley  was  the 
very  opposite  of  Sylvester.  He  was  calm,  undemonstra- 
tive, orderly.  His  lectures  were  upon  a  definite  plan,  and 
his  manuscript  was  distinct  and  legible,  so  that  it  might 
have  been  sent  at  once  to  the  printer.  He  was  the  embodi- 
ment of  modesty,  and  yet  no  one  who  saw  his  fine  head 
could  doubt  that  he  had  force.  Those  who  could  follow 
him  were  profoundly  impressed  by  his  ability.  He  did  not 
have  many  hearers,  and  most  of  them  were  mathematical 


PROFESSOR   CAYLEY  65 

teachers — "  a  regiment  of  brigadiers,"  Sylvester  called 
them. 

Here  is  Newcomb's  appreciation  of  Cayley. 

"  The  career  of  Professor  Cayley  afforded  an  example  of 
the  spirit  that  impels  a  scientific  worker  of  the  highest  class, 
and  of  the  extent  to  which  an  enlightened  community  may 
honour  him  for  what  he  is  doing.  One  of  the  creators  of 
modern  mathematics,  he  never  had  any  ambition  beyond 
the  prosecution  of  his  favourite  science.  .  .  .  His  life 
was  that  of  a  man  moved  to  investigation  by  an  uncontrol- 
lable impulse — the  only  sort  of  man  whose  work  is  destined 
to  be  imperishable.  Until  forty  years  of  age  he  was  by 
profession  a  conveyancer.  His  ability  was  such  that  he 
might  have  gained  a  fortune  by  practising  the  highest 
branch  of  English  law,  if  his  energies  had  not  been  diverted 
in  another  direction.  The  spirit  in  which  he  pursued  his 
work  may  be  judged  from  an  anecdote  related  by  his  friend 
and  co-worker,  Sylvester,  who,  in  speaking  of  Cayley's  even 
and  placid  temper,  told  me  that  he  had  never  seen  him 
ruffled  but  once.  Entering  his  office  one  morning,  intent 
on  some  new  mathematical  thought  which  he  was  discuss- 
ing with  Sylvester,  he  opened  the  letter-box  in  his  door 
and  found  a  bundle  of  papers  relating  to  a  law  case  which 
he  was  asked  to  take  up.  The  interruption  was  too  much. 
He  flung  the  papers  on  the  table  with  remarks  more  for- 
cible than  complimentary  concerning  the  person  who  had 
distracted  his  attention  at  such  an  inopportune  moment. 
In  1863  he  was  made  a  professor  at  Cambridge,  where, 
no  longer  troubled  with  the  intricacies  of  land  tenure,  he 
published  one  investigation  after  another  with  ceaseless  ac- 
tivity, to  the  end  of  his  life." 

Professor  Sylvester  spent  seven  years  with  us,  the  seven 
which  preceded  his  seventieth  birthday.  He  left  Baltimore 
to  enter  upon  the  Savilian  professorship  in  the  University 
of  Oxford,  and  he  died  the  incumbent  of  that  post  in  1897. 


66      THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

The  service  in  Johns  Hopkins  was  not  his  first  experience 
as  a  professor  in  this  country,  for  when  quite  a  young  man 
he  had  been  one  of  the  brilliant  staff  of  the  University  of 
Virginia,  and  stories  may  still  be  heard  at  Charlottesville 
respecting  the  manifestations  of  his  irascible  disposition  while 
he  was  there  resident.  It  was  at  the  earnest  request  of  Ben- 
jamin Peirce  and  Joseph  Henry,  men  of  science  both  emi- 
nent and  wise,  that  I  called  upon  Sylvester  in  London,  in- 
troduced by  Sir  Joseph  Hooker,  the  botanist,  then  president 
of  the  Royal  Society  of  London.  It  was  obvious  that  the 
mathematician  was  willing,  perhaps  eager,  to  be  called  to 
Baltimore.  He  was  harassed  by  what  seemed  to  him  a 
grievous  wrong,  his  displacement  by  the  government  from 
the  post  which  he  had  held  at  the  military  college  in  Wool- 
wich; his  pecuniary  resources  were  limited;  and  he  longed 
not  only  for  a  salary,  but  for  the  recognition  of  a  univer- 
sity appointment,  which  for  no  fault  of  his  own  had  been 
denied  him  in  England.  Because  he  was  a  Jew,  he  had  not 
even  been  able  to  take  a  baccalaureate  degree,  although 
he  was  eminent  even  thus  early  as  a  mathematician.  I  was 
not  so  ready  to  invite  him  as  he  wras  to  receive  an  invita- 
tion, for  there  were  many  intimations  that  he  was  "  hard 
to  get  on  with."  More  than  one  American  correspondent 
reminded  me  of  the  importance  of  co-operation  among  the 
members  of  a  faculty,  with  dark  hints  of  possible  effer- 
vescence. Before  asking  him  to  this  country  I  made  many 
inquiries  among  his  English  friends  respecting  his  temper, 
and  I  received  very  guarded  answers,  which  awakened  the 
alarm  they  were  designed  to  allay.  Nevertheless,  the  evi- 
dence of  Sylvester's  intellectual  brilliancy  and  of  his  renown 
were  so  great  that  the  possibility  of  discord  seemed  infini- 
tesimal in  comparison  with  his  merits ;  so  he  was  called  and 
so  he  came. 

Many  good  stories  are  afloat  about  the  eccentricities  of 
this  professor — most  of  them  exaggerated  or  twisted — but 


PROFESSOR   SYLVESTER  67 

those  which  I  shall  tell  came  under  my  own  observation. 
An  apocryphal  anecdote  about  his  alarm  because  one  leg 
had  become  shorter  than  the  other,  as  he  walked  to  the 
lecture-room  one  foot  in  the  gutter,  is  a  story  that  I  had 
heard  in  Berlin,  decades  before,  attributed  to  Neander. 
College  traditions  are  full  of  such  academic  Joe  Millerisms. 
Sylvester  had  a  good  deal  of  skill  in  versification,  and  had 
published  a  small  volume,  full  of  racy  remarks  and  witty 
notes,  on  the  "  Laws  of  Verse,"  in  the  course  of  which  he 
argued  that  imagination  has  much  to  do  with  the  science  of 
mathematics.  In  the  appendix  are  some  very  good  versions 
of  classical  and  modern  German  poems.  If  his  poetical 
fire  had  gone  no  farther,  all  would  have  been  well;  but 
he  became  possessed  by  a  sort  of  monomania  for  rhyme,  and 
soon  after  he  came  among  us  his  friends  were  confidentially 
treated  to  a  long  series  of  lines,  every  one  of  which  ended 
with  a  syllable  pronounced  both  md  and  Ind*  Rosalind  was 
the  theme.  Some  of  the  rhymes  were  forced  to  a  ridiculous 
degree — Bowdoined,  I  remember;  Bodind,  he  called  it,  the 
derivative  of  Bowdoin.  This  extraordinary  composition, 
a  veritable  tour  de  force,  reached  four  or  five  hundred  verses, 
each  closing  with  the  three  monotonous  letters  or  their  vocal 
equivalents.  I  do  not  know  whether  he  ever  gave  away 
printed  copies  of  this  extraordinary  production  of  his  fer- 
tile brain,  but  he  read  his  verses  to  many  unwilling  hearers, 
and  I  know  that  he  kept  the  type  standing  for  months  at 
the  printer's  for  additions  and  emendations.  An  early 
manuscript  copy  is  in  the  archives  of  the  University,  and 
I  will  give  a  few  lines  from  it — I  am  afraid  to  give 
more: 


68      THE   LAUNCHING  OF  A   UNIVERSITY 

To  ROSALIND 
(Key  to  the  sentence  of  some  hundreds  of  lines,  all  rhyming  with  ind) 

In  Cecilia's  name  I  find — 
(Deem  not  thou  the  guess  unkind) — 
Celia,  with  a  sigh  combined,1 
Whose  five  letters,  loose  aligned, 
Magic  set,  and  recombined, 
Fairest  O!  of  lily  kind, 
Shall  disclose  to  every  mind, 
From  Far  West  to  Orient  Ind 
With  each  mortal  thing  unkinned, 
Thy  sweet  name,  dear  Rosalind! 

He  certainly  distributed  a  few  printed  copies  of  "  Spring's 
Debut:  a  Town  Idyll,"  more  than  200  lines  of  nonsense 
verse,  rhyming  with  in  more  remarkable  for  the  appended 
notes  than  for  any  merit  as  a  poem. 

Sylvester  enjoyed  stimulants — I  do  not  mean  such  vul- 
gar and  material  articles  as  alcohol  and  coffee.  I  never 
saw  any  indications  that  he  cared  for  their  support.  But 
he  loved  such  stimulants  to  intellectual  activity  as  music, 
and  light,  and  lively  society  in  which  he  was  not  called  upon 
to  participate.  Once  at  a  symphony  concert  I  sat  just  be- 
hind him,  admiring  the  dome  of  his  capacious  cranium,  un- 
concealed by  hair,  and  I  noticed  how  absorbed  he  was.  The 
next  day,  Sunday,  he  came  to  me  impetuously  to  say  that 
he  had  worked  out  some  mathematical  proposition  at  the 
concert  of  the  evening  before,  the  music  having  quickened 
his  mathematical  min'd.  He  really  thought  this  was  his 
greatest  achievement  yet,  and  he  had  hastened  to  write  it 
out  and  mail  it  to  the  Academy  of  Sciences  in  Paris.  Once 
he  told  me  that  having  a  special  paper  to  prepare,  he  went 
to  a  store  and  bought  a  pound  of  candles,  which  he  placed 
about  his  room,  on  all  sorts  of  extemporaneous  candlesticks, 
"  for  light,"  he  said,  "  is  a  most  powerful  tonic."  He  com- 
1  Celia  +  ci  =  Cecilia. 


PROFESSOR    SYLVESTER  69 

plained  that  the  members  of  his  club  thought  him  dull,  and 
the  passers  on  the  street  thought  him  queer,  when  the  truth 
was,  as  he  told  me,  that  the  activity  of  others  around  him 
kept  his  brain  active,  and  enabled  him  to  carry  on  his  own 
intellectual  abstractions.  Sometimes,  however,  he  was  very 
absent-minded.  For  example,  he  arrived  from  Philadelphia 
on  a  late  train  and  walked  bareheaded  to  his  hotel.  The 
next  morning  he  demanded  his  hat,  and  insisted  that  it  was 
in  the  house,  and  then  he  could  not  be  persuaded  that  it 
was  not  stolen,  until  a  telegram  revealed  the  fact  that  the 
hat  had  travelled  in  the  Pullman  car  to  Washington. 

Once,  in  print,  he  speaks  of  one  of  his  effusions  as 
"  evolved  out  of  an  improvised  epigram  which,  as  he  wended 
his  way  home  that  morning,  formed  itself  in  the  author's 
mind,  intoxicated  with  the  bright  sun  shining  overhead,  the 
balmy  air,  the  song  of  the  birds,  and  the  new-come-out  vir- 
gin spring  just  beginning  to  peep  over  Old  Father  Winter's 
reverend  shoulder." 

Sylvester  was  a  genius,  with  all  the  admirable  qualities, 
and  with  many  of  the  limitations  and  eccentricities  of 
genius.  He  was  often  elated  by  the  honours  that  were 
showered  upon  him  by  the  men  of  science,  and  complimented 
by  the  deference  and  courtesy  that  came  to  him  in  society; 
but  his  mercury  sometimes  sank  below  zero.  He  could  be 
irate,  very  much  so,  but  his  wrath  was  like  "  the  crackling 
of  thorns  beneath  a  pot."  For  a  moment  it  was  furious, 
then  the  flame  became  extinct  and  the  embers  died. 

By  recalling  his  oddities,  I  must  not  blind  the  reader  to 
the  extraordinary  strength  and  fertility  of  Sylvester's  mind. 
From  every  point  of  view  he  was  a  marvel — first  and  fore- 
most as  a  mathematician,  as  all  the  world  has  acknowledged ; 
then  as  a  teacher  of  gifted  scholars,  not  by  any  means  a 
drill-master,  but  an  inspirer ;  then  as  a  man  of  letters,  loving 
English,  French,  German,  Italian,  Latin,  and  Greek  liter- 
ature, carrying  the  Odyssey  in  Greek  for  his  light  reading 


70      THE  LAUNCHING   OF  A  UNIVERSITY 

at  sea,  and  working  for  years  to  perfect  his  version  of  one  of 
the  odes  of  Horace,  ad  Meecenatem  (iii.  29). 

Among  the  American  investigators  of  light  and  heat,  Rum- 
ford  the  earliest,  and  Rowland  the  latest,  about  a  century 
apart,  are  the  most  distinguished.  Rumford  founded  a  prize 
for  the  recognition  of  important  contributions  to  those  twin 
branches  of  physics,  and  very  long  afterward  Rowland  re- 
ceived that  prize  from  the  American  Academy  of  Arts  and 
Sciences.  So  their  names  are  associated,  but  their  studies 
bring  their  names  into  closer  relations.  Rumford  died  past 
sixty  years  of  age;  Rowland  has  just  departed  at  the  age  of 
fifty-three,  both  cut  off  before  their  work  was  done,  not 
before  their  fame  was  secure.  For  a  quarter  of  a  century 
Rowland  had  free  scope  in  the  University  at  Baltimore,  and 
his  freedom  was  justified  by  his  achievements.  He  was  a 
great  man — great  in  talents,  great  in  achievements,  great  in 
renown.  So  it  was  said  at  his  funeral.  He  was  one  of  those 
rare  scholars  who  owe  but  little,  if  anything,  to  a  mortal 
teacher.  They  learn  their  lessons  in  the  school  of  nature. 
Investigation  is  their  watchword,  observation  and  experiment 
their  instruments.  The  sun  is  one  of  their  chief  instructors ; 
the  earth,  another ;  the  sea,  the  air,  the  ether,  give  knowledge 
to  such  minds.  Of  these  lessons  Rowland  was  never  wearied. 
But  he  rebelled  in  his  boyhood  against  the  tasks  of  ordinary 
schools;  he  abhorred  Latin  and  Greek;  he  would  not  go  to 
college;  he  would  not  swear  in  the  words  of  any  master; 
conscious  of  his  own  accuracy  in  research  and  in  calculation, 
he  asked  for  no  indorsement.  When  he  entered  his  teens 
he  began  to  make  notes  of  hard  problems  in  physics,  and  to 
begin  their  solution.  While  he  was  an  obscure  assistant  in 
the  Rensselaer  Polytechnic  Institute  at  Troy  he  made  some 
discoveries  respecting  the  electrical  discharge,  and  this  paper 
gave  him  instantaneous  celebrity.  It  led  to  his  intimacy 
with  Clerk  Maxwell,  to  his  call  from  the  Johns  Hopkins,  to 
his  winter  in  Helmholtz's  laboratory,  and  to  a  noteworthy 


PROFESSOR   ROWLAND  71 

investigation  which  was  reported  by  Helmholtz  to  the  Berlin 
Academy  when  its  author  was  twenty-seven  years  old. 

As  a  part  of  his  duties,  Rowland  was  requested  by  the 
trustees  to  buy  the  requisite  instruments  for  the  physical  lab- 
oratory. Everything  was  left  to  his  discretion.  Those  were 
the  days  when  the  scientific  lecture-rooms  in  America  gloried 
in  demonstrations  of  "  the  wonders  "  of  nature — "  the  bright 
light,  the  loud  noise,  and  the  bad  smell."  Rowland  would 
none  of  this.  Instruments  of  precision  he  would  have,  and 
would  have  them  in  abundance,  and  of  the  best  makers,  no 
matter  about  the  cost.  So  his  laboratory  was  well  equipped ; 
and  when  at  Harvard,  a  few  years  later,  Professor  Wolcott 
Gibbs  published  a  catalogue  of  the  instruments  of  precision 
in  this  country  available  for  research,  Johns  Hopkins  led  the 
column. 

From  that  time  onward  Rowland  was  conspicuous  and  his 
course  was  brilliant.  The  university  secured  temporary 
lodgement  in  two  private  dwelling-houses.  "All  I  want," 
said  Rowland,  "  is  the  back  kitchen  and  a  solid  pier  built 
up  from  the  ground."  As  usual,  he  got  what  he  wanted, 
though  it  must  be  said  that  his  requests  were  not  always  so 
restrained.  Something — I  do  not  know  what — turned  his 
attention  to  the  importance  of  redetermining  the  mechanical 
equivalent  of  heat,  and  he  was  encouraged  by  the  American 
Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences  to  undertake  this  enquiry.  He 
devised  his  own  method,  made  his  own  instrument,  and 
worked  out  the  results,  which  stand,  I  believe,  as  the  nearest 
approach  to  absolute  accuracy  that  has  yet  been  attained 
by  the  eminent  men  who  have  attacked  this  fundamental 
problem. 

The  subsequent  career  of  Professor  Rowland  is  now  a  part 
of  the  history  of  science  in  America,  an  important  chapter 
in  the  science  of  light  and  heat.  There  is  no  reason  why 
I  should  repeat  the  list  of  the  honours  that  he  has  received, 
nor  enumerate  the  investigations  which  he  carried  forward, 


72      THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A    UNIVERSITY 

nor  the  names  of  physicists  in  all  parts  of  the  country  who 
acknowledged  him  as  their  illustrious  teacher,  for  Dr.  Men- 
denhall  has  made  a  critical  estimate  of  his  contributions  to 
science  and  many  other  eulogies  have  been  called  out  by  his 
death. 

Yet  perhaps  a  few  more  words  of  personal  delineation  may 
help  to  keep  in  mind  his  remarkable  individuality.  He  was 
tall,  slender,  but  not  slim,  well  proportioned,  alert,  giving 
every  indication  of  a  healthy  body.  Of  physical  exercise  he 
was  very  fond ;  in  winter  the  horse,  in  summer  the  sail-boat, 
gave  him  never-failing  delight.  He  knew  where  to  find 
the  trout  and  how  to  handle  the  rod.  He  would  take  great 
risks  in  following  the  hounds.  "  You  should  think  of  the 
fox,  and  not  of  the  ditch,"  I  have  heard  him  say  when  he 
was  chided  for  his  rash  horsemanship.  He  landed  once  in 
Liverpool  and  saw  an  advertisement  of  a  meet.  He  took 
a  train  to  the  nearest  station,  hired  the  best  nag  he  could 
find,  joined  in  the  run,  won  the  brush,  and  then  disappeared 
from  among  his  competitors,  who  hardly  knew  what  to  make 
of  this  unexpected  victor.  He  designed  a  sail-boat,  and  be- 
fore it  was  launched  he  told  the  builders  to  paint  the  water- 
line  where  his  calculations  said  that  it  should  be.  They 
objected;  he  persisted.  The  boat  was  launched,  and  the 
builders  smiled  when  they  saw  that  the  line  was  above  the 
water's  edge.  "  Put  in  the  mast,"  said  Rowland,  and  the 
boat  sank  to  the  painted  line.  "  That  was  what  I  had 
figured  on,"  he  exultingly  said.  The  incident  was  closed. 

Rowland's  enduring  fame  will  rest  partly  on  his  deter- 
mination of  the  mechanical  equivalent  of  heat,  partly  on 
his  accurate  ascertainment  of  the  value  of  the  ohm,  and 
chiefly  on  his  spectrum  analysis.  He  contrived  the  dividing- 
engine,  which  could  rule  many  thousand  lines  to  the  inch, 
and  he  made  one  of  the  most  perfect,  if  not  the  most  per- 
fect, screw  that  the  world  has  ever  seen,  to  guide  the  dia- 
mond needle  which  ruled  the  concave  gratings.  By  the 


PROFESSOR   ROWLAND  73 

agency  of  these  gratings  the  solar  spectrum  is  analysed.  But 
Rowland  did  not  stop  here;  he  experimented  in  photog- 
raphy till  he  became  a  master  of  the  art,  and  made  a  map 
of  the  solar  spectrum,  more  explicit  and  more  exact  than 
any  previous  map.  This  is  not  the  place,  nor  am  I  the 
person,  to  give  a  detailed  account  of  this  achievement,  and 
of  the  wonderful  discoveries  to  which  it  led  in  respect  to 
the  nature  of  light. 

Instead  of  making  the  attempt,  I  will  give  a  few  sentences 
which  I  do  not  remember  that  I  ever  showed  to  Rowland 
written  to  me  in  1882  by  a  Harvard  friend  who  went  with 
Rowland  to  the  Electrical  Congress  in  Paris.  This  friend 
of  ours  was  Professor  John  Trowbridge : 

"  Rowland  invited  Mascart,  Sir  W.  Thomson,  Wiede- 
mann,  Rossetti,  and  Kohlrausch  to  his  room  at  the  Hotel 
Continental  in  Paris,  and  showed  them  his  photographs  and 
gratings.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  they  were  astonished. 
Mascart  kept  muttering  ' Superbe* — '  Magnifique.'  The 
Germans  spread  their  palms,  looked  as  if  they  wished  they 
had  ventral  fins  and  tails  to  express  their  sentiments.  Sir 
W.  Thomson  evidently  knew  very  little  about  the  subject, 
and  maintained  a  wholesome  reticence,  but  looked  his  ad- 
miration, for  he  knows  a  good  thing  when  he  sees  it,  and 
also  had  the  look  that  he  could  express  himself  upon  the 
whole  subject  in  fifteen  minutes  when  he  got  back  to 
Glasgow. 

"  In  England,  Rowland's  success  was  better  appreciated, 
if  possible,  than  in  Paris.  He  read  a  paper  before  a  very 
full  meeting  of  the  Physical  Society — De  la  Rive,  Profes- 
sor Dewar  of  Cambridge,  Professor  Clifton  of  Oxford,  Pro- 
fessor Adams  (of  Leverrier  fame),  Professor  Carey  Fos- 
ter, Hilger  the  optician,  Professor  Guthrie,  and  other  noted 
men  being  present.  I  was  delighted  to  see  his  success.  The 
English  men  of  science  were  actually  dumbfounded.  Row- 
land spoke  extremely  well,  for  he  was  full  of  his  subject, 


74      THE  LAUNCHING   OF  A  UNIVERSITY 

and  his  dry  humour  was  much  appreciated  by  his  English 
audience.  When  he  said  that  he  '  could  do  as  much  in  an 
hour  as  had  hitherto  been  accomplished  in  three  years/  there 
was  a  sigh  of  astonishment  and  then  cries  of  '  Hear!  Hear! ' 
Professor  Dewar  arose  and  said :  *  We  have  heard  from  Pro- 
fessor Rowland  that  he  can  do  as  much  in  an  hour  as  has  been 
done  hitherto  in  three  years.  I  struggle  with  a  very  mixed 
feeling  of  elation  and  depression:  elation  for  the  wonderful 
gain  to  science;  and  depression  for  myself,  for  I  have  been 
at  work  for  three  years  in  mapping  the  ultra  violet.'  De  la 
Rive  asked  how  many  lines  to  the  inch  could  be  ruled  by 
Rowland.  The  latter  replied:  *I  have  ruled  43,000  to 
the  inch,  and  I  can  rule  1,000,000  to  the  inch,  but 
what  would  be  the  use?  No  one  would  ever  know 
that  I  had  really  done  it.'  Laughter  greeted  this  sally.  This 
young  American  was  like  the  Yosemite,  Niagara,  Pullman 
palace  car — far  ahead  of  anything  in  England.  Professor 
Clifton  referred  in  glowing  terms  to  the  wonderful  instru- 
ment that  had  been  put  into  the  hands  of  physicists,  and 
spoke  of  the  beautiful  geometrical  demonstrations  of  Row- 
land. Professor  Dewar  said  that  Johns  Hopkins  University 
had  done  great  things  for  science,  and  that  greater  achieve- 
ments would  be  expected  from  it.  Captain  Abney  wrote  a 
letter  which  Rowland  ought  to  show  you,  for,  after  having 
been  read  at  the  meeting,  it  was  given  to  him. 

"The  letter  concluded  with  this  characteristic  anecdote: 
1 1  introduced  Rowland  to  a  fox-hunting  gentleman,  an  old 
acquaintance  of  mine,  and  I  imagine  Rowland  got  enough 
of  English  fox-hunting,  for,  on  my  return  from  Birmingham, 
one  evening,  I  found  him  stretched  on  the  bed,  a  symphony 
in  brown  and  red  mud,  his  once  glossy  hat  crushed  into 
nothingness,  his  top-boots,  once  so  new,  a  mass  of  Warwick- 
shire mud.  He  dryly  remarked  that  he  "  guessed  there 
wouldn't  be  any  trouble  about  getting  his  hunting-suit 
through  the  custom-house  now."  He  came  very  near  break- 


LORD   KELVIN  75 

ing  his  neck,  having  been  thrown  on  his  head  before  he 
"  could  calculate  his  orbit,"  as  he  remarked.  I  could  not 
help  shuddering  from  friendship  and  from  love  of  science.' ' 

One  of  the  most  extraordinary  and  renowned  of  the 
physicists  of  the  nineteenth  century  lectured  before  the  Johns 
Hopkins  University  in  1884.  Years  before,  I  had  sought 
the  counsel  of  Sir  William  Thomson,  now  Lord  Kelvin,  in 
Glasgow,  where  I  found  him  in  his  laboratory  surrounded 
by  a  dozen  students  watching,  with  the  attention  of  a  clinic, 
an  experiment  which  he  was  making.  It  may  have  been 
the  working  of  the  syphon  recorder — that  ingenious  device 
by  which  the  feeble  currents  received  from  an  ocean  cable 
are  reduced  to  curves,  which  are  afterward  translated  into 
words — I  am  not  sure,  but  I  have  treasured  to  this  day  a 
bit  of  the  script  which  he  then  gave  me.  One  day  Professor 
Wolcott  Gibbs  suggested,  to  my  surprise,  that  we  should  in- 
vite Lord  Kelvin  to  lecture  in  Baltimore.  We  hardly  thought 
it  likely  that  he  would  accept  our  invitation,  but,  supported 
by  one  or  more  indorsements,  it  was  favourably  received  by 
this  eminent  man,  and  he  came. 

Long  may  it  be  before  anyone  shall  write  a  memorial 
sketch  of  Lord  Kelvin,  but  when  it  is  written  there  must  be 
a  paragraph  or  a  chapter  about  his  visit  to  Johns  Hopkins 
and  his  reception  by  the  "  coefficients,"  the  company  of  math- 
ematicians to  whom  he  gave  his  lectures  upon  light.  The 
lectures  went  on  from  day  to  day  upon  the  topics  that  oc- 
curred to  the  lecturer,  or  that  were  suggested  by  the  ques- 
tions of  his  hearers.  Everyone  who  was  capable  of  following 
him  was  enchanted.  "  How  long  will  these  lectures  con- 
tinue?" asked  one  of  the  auditors.  "I  do  not  know,"  re- 
plied Lord  Rayleigh,  who  was  orie  of  the  followers.  "  I 
suppose  they  will  end  some  time,  but  I  confess  I  see  no  rea- 
son why  they  should." 

Our  celebrities  were  not  always  mathematical.  Dean 
Stanley,  for  example,  belonged  to  many  schools,  but  not,  so 


76      THE   LAUNCHING   OF  A   UNIVERSITY 

far  as  I  have  ever  heard,  to  the  school  of  mathematics.  He 
came  to  Baltimore  from  Philadelphia  under  the  escort  of 
that  generous  and  hospitable  internationalist,  Mr.  George 
W.  Childs.  As  he  could  only  stay  over  night,  I  said  to 
him,  as  he  came  into  the  railroad  station:  "What  would 
you  most  like  to  see  in  Baltimore?  We  have  a  superb  hos- 
pital," I  began.  "  I  cannot  endure  a  hospital,"  was  his  quick 
interruption.  "  Dr.  Harper,  my  young  medical  companion, 
might  like  to  see  that,  but  show  me  something  historical." 
"Historical?"  I  enquired.  "You  come  from  Westminster 
Abbey  to  a  town  a  century  and  a  half  old.  Dear  me,  what 
would  you  call  '  historical '  ?  We  have  a  Roman  Catholic 
Cathedral,  where  a  Provincial  Council  has  been  held,  and 
it  has  some  paintings  given  by  a  King  of  France.  We  have 
the  Maryland  Historical  Society,  with  archives  and  pictures 
that  interest  local  antiquaries.  We  have  a  University  that 
has  passed  its  second  summer.  And  there  are  the  Bonaparte 
portraits  and  mementoes."  "  Take  me  to  see  the  Bona- 
partes,"  was  his  prompt  reply.  I  explained  to  him  that  they 
were  a  private  possession,  and  I  must  ask  permission.  While 
he  was  taking  his  afternoon  cup  of  tea,  the  permission  was 
readily  and  graciously  given.  The  dean  was  delighted  with 
what  he  saw.  Every  object,  every  portrait,  interested  him 
and  drew  forth  some  appropriate  question  or  comment.  I 
have  a  vivid  remembrance  of  his  kneeling  before  a  group 
of  miniatures  which  hung  so  low  that  even  one  of  his  stature 
could  not  readily  see  them  standing.  At  dinner  he  was  full 
of  anecdotes  and  enquiries.  Among  other  things,  he  told 
the  famous  Inveraw  and  Ticonderoga  story,  which  was  soon 
afterward  printed  in  Erasers  Magazine  for  October,  1878. 
At  nine  o'clock  he  was  ready  to  meet  the  assembled  officers 
and  students  in  Hopkins  Hall.  Of  course  he  was  called  on 
for  a  speech,  and  he  said  a  few  words,  which  were  recalled, 
the  next  day,  by  Sir  George  Grove,  a  member  of  the  party 
and  a  man  of  ready  pen  and  editorial  habits.  The  company 


DEAN   STANLEY  77 

was  naturally  pleased  by  his  historical  allusions  to  Walter 
of  Merton  and  Devorguilla  of  Balliol,  for,  although  we  did 
not  know  much  about  either  of  them,  we  projected  our 
imaginations  forward  and  wondered  whether  Hopkins  of 
Baltimore  would  be  as  long  remembered.  These  were  Dean 
Stanley's  words: 

"  When  I  see  an  institution  like  this  in  its  first  beginnings, 
I  am  carried  back  to  the  time  my  own  university  in  England 
was  begun,  perhaps  a  thousand  years  ago,  in  the  fabulous 
obscurity  of  the  age  of  Alfred,  or  the  more  recent  historic 
times  of  Walter  of  Merton  or  Devorguilla  of  Balliol;  and 
I  observe  the  repetition  of  the  same  yearnings,  after  a  dis- 
tant future  of  improvement,  as  those  which  were  before  the 
minds  of  those  old  mediaeval  founders.  The  same  spirit  is 
needed  for  that  improvement  on  this  side  of  the  ocean  and 
on  the  other.  I  am  led  to  think  of  the  description  given  by 
Chaucer  in  that  inestimable  Prologue  to  the  *  Canterbury 
Tales/  which  I  hope  you  will  all  read  one  day  or  other,  of 
the  Good  Scholar  and  the  Good  Pastor,  bred  in  Oxford  in 
his  time;  and  I  see  how,  in  spite  of  all  the  vast  changes 
which  have  passed  over  the  minds  of  men  since  that  age, 
the  same  qualities  are  still  necessary  to  make  a  good  and  sin- 
cere scholar,  a  good  scientific  student,  an  efficient  medical  or 
legal  adviser,  an  efficient  spiritual  pastor.  Simplicity,  sin- 
cerity, love  of  goodness,  and  love  of  truth  are  as  powerful 
and  as  much  needed  in  our  day  as  they  were  in  the  days  long 
ago,  which  formed  the  great  professions  that  are  still  the 
bulwarks  of  society." 

The  remarks  of  Dean  Stanley  were  appropriate — of  course 
they  were;  he  never  said  anything  inappropriate — but  his 
manner  in  meeting  those  who  were  presented  to  him  was 
more  remarkable.  Each  name  set  him  thinking.  "  From 
what  part  of  England  did  your  forefathers  come  ?  "  "  Are 
you  of  the family?"  "You  surely  are  not  of  Eng- 
lish stock?"  "Did  your  people  emigrate  to  Virginia?" 


78      THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

These  and  like  questions,  with  the  answers  they  elicited, 
put  everyone  at  ease  as  he  came  up  to  greet  him.  His 
biographers  have  truly  said  that  everywhere,  in  his  Amer- 
ican visit,  "  he  put  himself  on  a  level  with  the  common- 
est person  and  without  a  touch  of  self-consciousness. 
His  tact  was  unfailing,  and  it  flowed  from  the  desire  and 
the  power  to  throw  himself  into  the  feelings  and  circum- 
stances of  others."  Many  people  have  this  desire — how  few 
like  Stanley  have  the  ability  as  well  as  the  wish! 

I  notice  one  slight  inaccuracy  in  their  memoir,  and  that  is 
so  amusing  that  I  must  mention  it.  "  Whether  he  spoke 
to  the  Congregationalist  students  of  the  Johns  Hopkins  Uni- 
versity, or  to  the  Presbyterians,  Methodists,  Baptists,  and 
Episcopalians  elsewhere,  his  audience  felt  that  in  each  utter- 
ance the  speaker  was  sincere  in  the  effort  to  discover  points 
of  union  sympathy."  As  the  new  foundation  in  Baltimore 
was  non-denominational,  and  the  president  was  the  only  Con- 
gregationalist on  the  governing  boards — this  wholesale 
classification  of  his  colleagues,  as  Congregationalists,  by  an 
ecclesiastical  historian,  was  gratifying,  but  unwarranted. 

Mr.  James  Russell  Lowell,  then  Professor  Lowell,  and 
Professor  Child  spent  the  month  of  February,  1877,  with 
us,  and  during  a  part  of  the  same  period  Professor  Charles 
E.  Norton  was  lecturing  at  the  Peabody  Institute.  They 
were  revered  as  three  wise  men  of  the  East.  Lowell  made 
but  little  preparation  for  his  lectures,  which  were  devoted  to 
Romance  poetry,  with  Dante  as  the  central  theme — I  mean 
that  he  made  but  little  special  preparation  for  each  discourse. 
He  had  with  him  the  accumulated  notes  of  a  long-continued 
professorship,  and  I  think  he  told  me  that  he  had  read  Dante 
forty  times  over.  His  manner  was  so  captivating  that  he 
would  have  delighted  his  auditors  if  he  had  simply  stated 
the  most  commonplace  reflections  on  mediaeval  poetry;  but 
his  literary  sagacity,  his  humour,  his  learning,  and  his  cita- 
tions charmed  all  who  heard  him,  more,  perhaps,  than  greater 


PROFESSORS   LOWELL   AND   CHILD       79 

elaboration  and  more  logical  treatment  would  have  done. 
In  private,  he  was  delightful.  I  treasure  a  vivid  picture  of 
his  getting  down  on  his  knees  so  as  to  be  of  the  same  height 
as  a  little  girl  seven  years  old,  and  offering  her  his  arm  as  he 
escorted  her  to  the  supper-table;  and  I  know  a  lady  who 
still  counts  as  a  valuable  memento  the  offhand  verses  with 
which  he  acknowledged  a  bunch  of  roses  received  from  her 
on  his  recovery  from  an  attack  of  illness. 

At  the  commemoration  exercises  on  Washington's  Birth- 
day, Mr.  Lowell  read  by  request  that  part  of  his  "  Ode 
under  the  Old  Elm"  (Canto  viii),  in  which  a  glowing 
tribute  is  paid  to  Virginia.  In  a  letter  to  Miss  Norton,  the 
scene  is  thus  described  by  the  poet  himself.  After  speaking 
of  the  address  by  Professor  Gildersleeve  on  classical  studies 
and  that  by  Professor  Sylvester  on  the  study  of  mathematics, 
"  both  of  them  very  good  and  just  enough  spicy  with  the 
personality  of  the  speaker  to  be  taking,"  he  goes  on  to  say: 
"  Then  I,  by  special  request,  read  a  part  of  my  Cambridge 
Elm  poem,  and  actually  drew  tears  from  the  eyes  of  bitter 
Secessionists — comparable  with  those  iron  ones  that  rattled 
down  Pluto's  cheek.  I  didn't  quite  like  to  read  the  invoca- 
tion to  Virginia  here — I  was  willing  enough  three  or  four 
hundred  miles  north — but  I  think  it  did  good.  Teackle 
Wallis  (Charles  will  tell  you  who  he  is),  a  prisoner  of 
Fort  Warren,  came  up  to  thank  me  with  dry  eyes  (which 
he  and  others  assured  me  had  been  flooded),  and  Judge 
Brown,  with  the  testifying  drops  still  on  his  lids." 

Lowell  was  a  constant  listener  to  Child,  and  he  enjoyed 
the  lectures  as  much  as  any  of  us.  "  You  missed  a  great 
pleasure,"  he  says  to  Professor  Norton,  "  in  not  hearing  him 
read  the  "  Nonnes  Prestes  "  tale.  I  certainly  never  heard  any 
thing  better.  He  wound  into  the  meaning  of  it  (as  Dr. 
Johnson  says  of  Burke)  like  a  serpent,  or  perhaps  I  should 
come  nearer  to  it  if  I  said  that  he  injected  the  veins  of  the 
poem  with  his  own  sympathetic  humour  till  it  seemed  to 


8o      THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

live  again.  I  could  see  his  hearers  take  the  fun  before  it 
came,  their  faces  lighting  with  the  reflection  of  his.  I  never 
saw  anything  better  done.  I  wish  I  could  inspire  myself 
with  his  example,  but  I  continue  dejected  and  lumpish.  .  .  . 
Child  goes  on  winning  all  ears  and  hearts.  I  am  rejoiced 
to  have  this  chance  of  seeing  so  much  of  him,  for  though  I 
loved  him  before,  I  did  not  know  how  lovable  he  was  till 
this  intimacy."  There  is  another  letter  from  "  Bahltimer  " 
to  Miss  Norton,  from  which  I  make  a  longer  citation,  chiefly 
for  the  sake  of  Child — partly  for  the  sake  of  Baltimore  hos- 
pitality. "  Sylvester  paid  a  charming  compliment  to  Child, 
and  so  did  Gildersleeve.  The  former  said  that  Child  had 
invented  a  new  pleasure  for  them  in  his  reading  of  Chaucer, 
and  Gildersleeve  that  you  almost  saw  the  dimple  of  Chau- 
cer's own  smile  as  his  reading  felt  out  the  humour  of  the 
verse.  The  house  responded  cordially.  If  I  had  much  vanity 
I  should  be  awfully  cross,  but  I  am  happy  to  say  that  I  have 
enjoyed  dear  Child's  four-weeks'  triumph  (of  which  he  alone 
is  unconscious),  to  the  last  laurel-leaf.  He  is  such  a  delight- 
ful creature!  I  never  saw  so  much  of  him  before,  and 
should  be  glad  I  came  here  if  it  were  for  nothing  but  my 
nearer  knowledge  and  enjoyment  of  him. 

"  We  are  overwhelmed  with  kindness  here.  I  feel  very 
much  as  an  elderly  oyster  might  who  was  suddenly  whisked 
away  into  a  polka  by  an  electric  eel.  How  I  shall  ever  do 
for  a  consistent  hermit  again,  heaven  only  knows.  I  eat  five 
meals  a  day,  as  on  board  a  Cunarder  on  the  mid-ocean,  and 
on  the  whole  bear  it  pretty  well,  especially  now  that  there 
are  only  four  lectures  left." 

Mr.  Lowell  engaged  to  come  again  a  year  later,  and  to 
take  Don  Quixote  for  his  theme,  but  in  the  meantime  Presi- 
dent Hayes  selected  him  for  the  legation  at  Madrid,  from 
which  he  was  soon  transferred  to  London1.  I  met  him  in 
London  as  we  were  entering  the  gateway  of  the  Fisheries 
Exhibition  on  "  American  Day."  "  I  must  make  an  opening 


PROFESSORS   LOWELL   AND    CHILD         81 

speech,"  he  said,  "  as  the  presiding  officer,  and  I  have  no 
idea  what  to  say."  "  Tell  them  the  story  of  the  American 
oyster,"  I  replied.  "What  is  that?"  he  asked.  So  I  told 
him  that  our  Baltimore  biologist,  Dr.  Brooks,  had  discovered 
recently  that  the  American  oyster  differs  from  the  European 
oyster  by  beginning  its  career  outside  the  parental  shell.  In 
the  oyster  world,  as  in  the  human  world,  young  America  is 
eager  to  begin  life  on  his  own  account,  without  parental  su- 
pervision. Pretty  soon  I  heard  Mr.  Lowell  tell  the  story  in 
his  agreeable  way,  and  it  was  correctly  given  in  the  report 
of  his  speech. 

Professor  Child  was  the  most  companionable  and  lovable 
of  visitors.  He  had  not  been  accustomed  to  the  lecture  plat- 
form, and  was  evidently  both  surprised  and  delighted  by  the 
reception  given  him.  His  theme  was  Chaucer.  It  was  be- 
fore the  day  of  Lounsbury's  masterly  volumes,  and  Child's 
narrative  of  Chaucer's  life,  his  pictures  of  Chaucer's  time,  his 
exposition  of  Chaucer's  language,  and  his  Chaucerian  pronun- 
ciation of  passages  from  the  "  Canterbury  Tales  "  were  a  fresh 
contribution  to  English  literature.  Everybody  who  owned  a 
Chaucer  brought  it  to  the  lecture-room,  and  those  who  owned 
no  copy  betook  themselves  to  the  book-stores.  The  local 
supply  was  soon  exhausted,  the  libraries  were  despoiled,  and 
for  days  there  was  "  a  corner  "  in  Chaucers  such  as  history 
has  never  before  recorded,  and  never  will  again.  In  the 
second  year  Child  read  us  old  ballads,  in  different  versions 
and  texts.  This  was  part  of  his  opus  magnum — learned, 
exhaustingly  so — but  not  nearly  as  acceptable  to  his  auditors 
as  his  Chaucerian  discourses.  I  think  he  may  have  been 
conscious  of  this,  for  he  volunteered  some  extra  appointments, 
in  which  he  read  Shakespeare  with  almost  as  much  skill  as, 
in  later  days,  Horace  Howard  Furness.  The  memory  of 
Professor  Child  is  still  a  cherished  possession.  I  have  many 
letters  from  him,  almost  all  of  them  full  of  messages  to  or  en- 
quiries after  those  whose  acquaintance  he  made  on  those  two 


82      THE   LAUNCHING   OF  A  UNIVERSITY 

memorable  visits.  All  these  memories  have  been  recently 
revived  by  the  gift  of  a  medallion  likeness  of  Child  by  Miss 
Upshur,  of  Boston.  When  Dr.  Kelley  made  us  this  present, 
we  held  a  meeting  to  commemorate  the  lectures  of  early  years, 
and  to  dwell  upon  the  rare  attainments  of  Professor  Child, 
as  a  scholar,  his  rarer  virtues  as  a  friend. 

Mr.  Edward  A.  Freeman,  the  historian,  would  have  been 
better  appreciated  by  the  Americans  whom  he  addressed,  if 
they  had  understood  his  tenses  and  moods,  or,  in  other  words, 
if  they  had  mastered  his  mode  of  speech.  It  has  often  seemed 
to  me  that  scholars,  certainly  those  who  dwell  within  college 
walls  or  live  secluded  lives,  have  each  of  them  his  own 
11  lingo."  By  this  I  mean  that  each  has  his  characteristic  use  of 
words,  and  if  you  would  quickly  apprehend  his  meaning  you 
will  do  well  to  observe  his  habitual  diction.  A  word  of 
praise,  even  a  laudatory  tone,  means  more  from  some  men 
than  a  paragraph  of  eulogy  from  others.  So  likewise  with 
criticism  and  censure.  Now  the  minute  exactness  which  is 
apparent  in  Freeman's  writings,  and  is  one  of  his  great  merits, 
governed  his  familiar  correspondence  and  conversation.  For 
example,  his  letters  from  America  give  many  allusions  to  the 
epithets  by  which  he  was  accosted.  He  is  offended,  or  pre- 
tends to  be  so,  because  they  call  him  "  Professor "  and 
"  Doctor."  "  Once,"  he  says,  "  I  was  called  '  Colonel.1 " 
He  declined  to  speak  at  the  University  because  he  was  under 
engagements  to  give  lectures  at  the  Peabody  Institute.  If 
he  would  not  "  lecture,"  I  asked  him  to  give  some  familiar 
talks  to  the  students.  "  Familiar  talks?  "  he  said  ironically. 
He  seemed  to  be  as  much  surprised  as  if  I  had  asked  him  for 
nursery  tales.  "  Well,  conferences,"  I  suggested.  "  Do  you 
mean  that  the  students  are  to  do  a  part  of  the  talking  and  I 
a  part  ?  "  was  his  next  inquiry.  I  forget  how  we  got  round 
the  difficulty,  but  I  believe  that  the  term  "  informal  lectures  " 
suited  him.  At  any  rate  he  spoke,  and  made  many  friends 
among  us.  "There  are  not  so  many  swells  here  at  Balti- 


EDWARD   A.   FREEMAN  83 

more  as  at  the  '  Hub  of  the  Universe,'  but  we  have  made  some 
pleasant  acquaintances  here — judges,  professors,  and  others. 
Johns  Hopkins,  his  University,  seems  to  be  doing  very  good 
work  " — so  wrote  the  historian  from  Baltimore,  November 
25,  1 88 1.  He  took  a  great  liking  to  Professor  Herbert  B. 
Adams,  to  whom  he  alluded  in  phrases  of  just  praise,  in  his 
books  on  America;  and  Adams  took  a  great  liking  to  Free- 
man, of  which  there  is  a  lasting  memorial.  Over  the  lec- 
turer's desk  in  the  historical  room  were  words  of  Freeman 
which  appealed  strongly  to  Dr.  Adams,  "  History  is  past 
politics,  and  politics  present  history  " — the  motto,  likewise,  of 
Adams's  series  of  historical  studies.  "  Mr.  Freeman,  where 
did  you  write  your  great  work  on  the  Norman  Conquest?  " 
asked  a  modest  student,  expecting  as  an  answer,  no  doubt, 
"  the  British  Museum  "  or  the  "  Bodleian."  "  In  my  own 
library.  Where  did  you  suppose  ?  "  came  the  gruff  reply. 
I  have  been  credibly  informed  that  when  conversation  lagged 
at  a  dinner-table  the  great  historian  was  known  to  nod.  If 
this  was  so,  it  is  not  a  solitary  instance  of  the  soporific  ten- 
dency of  advancing  years. 

Professor  Bryce,  as  it  happened,  was  in  Baltimore  at  the 
same  time,  and  the  two  men  rendered  a  great  service  to  the 
State  of  Maryland  by  urging  the  Legislature  to  make  a 
liberal  appropriation  for  printing  the  colonial,  or  more 
strictly,  the  provincial,  records  of  that  remarkable,  in  some 
particulars  that  unique,  Commonwealth.  Freeman's  name 
is  still  held  in  personal  reverence  among  our  men  of  that  day. 
A  few  years  after  his  visit,  in  spending  a  Sunday  at  Trinity 
College,  Oxford,  I  found  him  robed,  sitting  in  a  stall,  as  an 
Honourary  Fellow,  at  early  morning  prayers.  Then  and 
later  he  was  full  of  courtesies  and  kindness. 

As  we  went  into  the  dining-hall  on  "  Gaudy  day,"  my  es- 
cort pointed  to  a  portrait  on  the  wall,  and  said :  "  That  is 
your  great  enemy,  Lord  North ;  "  and  when  I  repeated  the  re- 
mark a  few  minutes  later  to  Freeman,  "  Yes,"  he  said,  indi- 


84      THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

eating  another  portrait,  "  and  that  is  your  great  friend,  Lord 
Chatham."  He  was  not  at  his  ease  in  Oxford,  especially  not 
in  a  professor's  chair.  "  It  is  all  so  disappointing  and  dis- 
heartening " — these  are  his  words.  "  I  have  tried  every  kind 
of  lecture  I  can  think  of,  and  put  my  best  strength  into  all, 
but  nobody  comes!  "  This  was  pitiful,  indeed.  I  think  the 
fault  must  have  been  in  the  system,  not  in  the  man.  Cer- 
tainly such  students  as  listened  to  him  in  Baltimore  would 
have  been  delighted  to  follow  the  master  for  a  year  through 
the  mazes  of  historical  research.  They  might  not  have  cared 
for  didactic  lectures,  crowded  with  detail,  but  they  could 
not  have  failed  to  watch  closely  the  methods  followed  by  a 
great  investigator,  his  ways  of  finding  out,  his  habits  of  veri- 
fication. After  all,  a  great  teacher  is  not  to  be  measured 
by  his  learning  only ;  it  is  rather  by  his  example. 

Although  I  am  not  one  of  those  who  knew  Freeman  best, 
I  would  echo  the  words  of  Professor  Bonney,  who  thus  wrote 
of  him :  "  He  always  reminded  me  of  a  lion,  and  had  he 
roared  when  roused  it  would  have  seemed  quite  natural. 
Some  men  complained  that,  like  the  king  of  beasts,  he  was 
apt  to  rend  those  who  crossed  his  path.  I  can  only  speak 
of  him  as  I  found  him — one  of  the  kindest  of  friends,  most 
tolerant  of  my  ignorance,  and  ever  ready  to  open  to  me  his 
stores  of  knowledge." 

One  word  more  let  me  add.  Freeman's  correspondence  is 
racy  in  a  high  degree;  everybody  should  know  it.  To  ap- 
preciate the  extraordinary  acquisitions,  industry,  and  versa- 
tility of  this  historian,  it  is  only  necessary  to  glance  at  a  full 
and  well-arranged  list  of  his  principal  writings  from  1846  to 
1892,  which  is  given  at  the  end  of  his  Memoirs. 

Let  us  hear  the  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter.  In  the 
conduct  of  a  university,  secure  the  ablest  men  as  professors, 
regardless  of  all  other  qualifications  excepting  those  of  per- 
sonal merit  and  adaptation  to  the  chairs  that  are  to  be  filled. 


PROFESSOR   FREEMAN  85 

Borrow  if  you  cannot  enlist.  Give  them  freedom,  give  them 
auxiliaries,  give  them  liberal  support.  Encourage  them  to 
come  before  the  world  of  science  and  of  letters  with  their  pub- 
lications. Bright  students,  soon  to  be  men  of  distinction, 
will  be  their  loyal  followers,  and  the  world  will  sing  a  loud 
Amen. 


INCIDENTS  OF  THE  EARLY   YEARS 


VI 

INCIDENTS  OF  THE  EARLY  YEARS 

"  THE  life  within  college  walls,"  of  which  the  college 
songsters  of  my  day  used  to  sing,  is,  in  general,  free  from  ex- 
citements, at  least  from  any  excitements  that  are  of  interest 
to  the  non-participants.  I  am  not  speaking  of  undergradu- 
ates, who  have  athletics,  fraternities  and  politics,  but  of 
teachers  and  advanced  students  whose  days  are  monotonous, 
passed  in  quiet,  hidden,  often  solitary  devotion  to  study.  New 
books,  instruments,  and  periodicals  give  flavour  to  their  pur- 
suits and  evoke  new  ideas.  This  is  the  excitement  that  the 
scholar  loves.  To  the  public  his  occupations  are  not  only 
forbidden — they  seem  dry  and  fruitless,  certainly  imbued 
with  incomprehensible  dulness ;  for  while  the  world  welcomes 
the  results,  it  cares  no  more  for  the  processes  of  study 
and  investigation  than  children  care  for  the  receipts  of 
the  pastry-book.  When  a  scholar  interprets  the  history 
of  the  Chaldaean  Deluge,  written  upon  a  tablet  of  clay 
and  long  buried  in  Mesopotamia,  a  new  chapter  is  opened 
to  the  reader  of  the  Book  of  Genesis — but  it  is  more  than 
probable  that  the  general  reader  knows  little  of  the  century 
of  cuneiform  scholarship  from  Grotefend  to  Haupt,  by  which 
this  extraordinary  story  has  been  made  intelligible.  It  is 
just  the  same  in  every  branch  of  study:  conclusions  are  wel- 
comed, especially  in  the  form  of  benefits;  processes  are  for- 
gotten. Yet  dull  as  the  life  of  a  scholar  appears  to  the  out- 
side world,  it  is  often  varied  by  incidents  that  are  entertaining 
and  inspiring.  Some  such  occurrences  I  propose  to  narrate. 
Of  late  years,  international  comity  has  led  to  academic 
celebrations  of  an  international  character.  They  are  osten- 
sibly intercollegiate,  but  they  are  in  reality  of  broader  scope. 

89 


$o      THE  LAUNCHING  OF  A  UNIVERSITY 

Within  the  last  five-and -twenty  years  Bologna,  Padua, 
Heidelberg,  Glasgow,  Cracow,  Montpellier,  Edinburgh,  and 
Dublin,  among  European  universities;  Harvard,  Yale, 
Columbia,  Princeton,  Williams,  St.  John's,  Chapel  Hill, 
Bowdoin,  and  Union,  among  American  institutions,  have  in- 
vited the  world  of  science  and  letters  to  be  represented  at 
celebrations,  centennial,  sesquicentennial,  bicentennial,  ter- 
centennial, and  even  quinquennial  and  sextennial.  The  cere- 
monies on  these  occasions  are  among  the  most  pleasant  as  well 
as  the  most  brilliant  events  in  academic  life.  Faculties  and 
students,  with  the  dignitaries  of  civil  and  ecclesiastical  sta- 
tions, take  part  in  jubilees  prolonged  through  several  days. 
Ordinary  commencements,  commemorations,  and  convoca- 
tions are  cast  into  the  shade. 

The  latest,  and  to  me,  for  many  reasons,  the  most  memor- 
able of  the  academic  festivals  that  I  have  attended,  is  that 
which  commemorated  the  aooth  anniversary  of  the  foundation 
of  Yale  College,  when  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
the  Chief  Justice,  the  Secretary  of  State,  two  foreign  ambas- 
sadors, a  representative  of  the  King  of  Sweden,  the  Premier 
of  Japan,  an  eminent  jurist  from  St.  Petersburg,  a  renowned 
surgeon  from  Berlin,  a  Roman  Catholic  archbishop,  a  bishop 
of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  scores  of  college  presi- 
dents and  professors,  dozens  of  men  of  letters  and  represen- 
tatives of  science,  with  other  dignitaries  not  a  few,  came  to- 
gether to  offer  their  congratulations  and  praises  to  the  Puri- 
tan college.  A  thoughtful  observer,  in  the  midst  of  all  this 
splendid  array,  might  have  said  that  the  vestiges  of  Puritanism 
were  passing  away,  twenty-six  decades  after  John  Davenport 
preached  his  first  sermon  in  the  wilderness  near  the  spot 
where  we  were  assembled.  Were  we  in  fact  proclaiming  the 
passing  of  Puritanism? 

The  culmination  of  these  brilliant  festivities  came  on  the 
last  day,  when  an  original  Greek  ode  was  sung  to  original 
music,  and  the  President  of  the  United  States,  having  re- 


MONTPELLIER,   DUBLIN,   AND   CRACOW    91 

ceived  the  hood  of  a  Doctor  of  Laws,  stepped  forward  on  the 
platform  to  congratulate  the  university  and  its  guests.  There 
were  two  other  remarkable  incidents.  One  evening  the 
graduates  and  undergraduates,  thousands  of  them,  marched 
under  the  elms,  with  torches,  banners,  mottoes,  and  music — 
a  most  impressive  throng;  and  another  evening,  in  the  open 
air,  beneath  a  brilliant  star-lit  sky,  in  the  presence  of  several 
thousands  of  men  and  women,  memorable  events  in  the  his- 
tory of  Yale  were  presented  in  dramatic  tableaux,  and  in  the 
interludes  the  welkin  rang  with  college  songs. 

I  have  seen  nothing  abroad  that  was  finer  in  the  way  of 
academic  rejoicings  than  these  Yalensian,  but  it  must  be  ad- 
mitted that  there  are  fewer  black  gowns,  more  bright-coloured 
robes,  in  the  European  gatherings  than  in  ours ;  so  the  foreign 
shows  are  more  striking.  At  Montpellier  I  was  startled  to 
find  that  the  American  delegation,  following  alphabetical 
precedence,  came  to  the  front  of  the  procession,  just  after 
Allemagne,  represented  by  Helmholtz,  and  the  plain  black 
clothes  that  I  wore  seemed  out  of  place.  I  ought  to  have 
worn  a  gown  and  I  ought  to  have  presented  a  diploma. 

In  Dublin,  as  a  speaker  for  the  United  States,  I  made  an 
explicit  and  pointed  reference  to  the  great  philosopher  from 
Trinity  College,  who  gave  away  land  and  books  for  the  bene- 
fit of  American  colleges,  and  who  died  the  Bishop  of  Cloyne, 
not  far  from  Cork.  These  were  the  delegate's  words: 
"  One  alumnus  of  Trinity  College  is  beloved  beyond  all 
others  by  Americans.  I  need  not  even  pronounce  his  name. 
Some  of  us  have  been  at  his  see  in  Cloyne;  we  have  looked 
upon  his  ideal  form  cut  in  marble  so  full  of  life  and  beauty 
that  we  felt  his  presence,  and  uttered  face  to  face  our  words 
of  gratitude  and  honour."  "  Name  him,"  cried  the  under- 
graduates, in  a  distant  gallery,  chaffing  the  speaker.  "  Who 
was  he?  Who  was  he?"  was  their  vociferous  shout.  "It 
would  not  be  necessary,"  I  replied  to  them  when  they  paused, 
"  in  an  American  college,  under  conditions  like  these,  to 


92      THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

pronounce  the  name  of  that  eminent  graduate  of  Dublin, 
George  Berkeley."  The  jeers  became  cheers,  and  the  boys 
gave  generous  applause  to  the  name  of  the  illustrious  bishop 
whom  they  did  not  recognise  as  a  benefactor  of  Yale  and  Har- 
vard. I  recall  another  incident.  After  Henry  Irving  had 
received  an  honorary  degree  and  the  company  was  leaving 
the  aula,  the  students,  neglecting  the  other  famous  men,  took 
the  actor  upon  their  shoulders  and  bore  him  to  a  neighbouring 
portico,  where  he  made  a  graceful  acknowledgment  of  their 
rude  but  hearty  and  well-meant  courtesy.  It  was  a  strik- 
ing illustration  of  the  readiness  of  human  nature  to  applaud 
those  who  have  given  us  pleasure  and  to  pass  unnoticed  those 
who  have  given  us  knowledge. 

In  Cracow,  the  ancient  capital  of  Poland,  there  was  a  noble 
commemoration  of  Polish  education,  literature,  science,  and 
art.  The  city  was  brilliant  with  colours,  the  procession  was 
dignified,  and  the  reception  of  delegates  by  the  noble  rector, 
Count  Tarnowski,  in  the  church,  from  which  the  sacred  para- 
phernalia had  been  removed,  was  most  impressive.  As  a 
representative  of  American  colleges,  I  did  not  fail  to  mention 
Kosciusko,  the  friend  of  Washington,  the  upholder  of  Ameri- 
can independence,  whose  lofty  cairn  looks  down  upon  the  city 
of  Cracow,  and  the  allusion  was  well  received;  but  when 
the  speaker  proceeded  to  speak  of  Sienkiewicz,  the  great 
writer,  whose  works  were  read  and  admired  in  lands  across 
the  seas,  the  house  burst  forth  in  applause  which  brought  to 
his  feet  the  illustrious  author  of  "  Pan  Michel "  and  "  Quo 
Vadis,"  who  had  been  sitting  just  in  front  of  the  platform. 
When  the  honorary  degrees  were  announced  it  was  with 
great  pleasure  that  I  heard  among  them  the  name  of  the 
American  astronomer,  Simon  Newcomb.  On  another  day, 
a  statue  of  the  illustrious  Copernicus  was  unveiled  in  the 
middle  of  the  beautiful  quadrangle  which  he  trod  as  an  un- 
dergraduate 400  years  before.  Remembered  as  a  student 
for  four  centuries! 


NON-RESIDENT   LECTURERS  93 

Such  entertainments  produce  a  strong  impression  on  those 
who  take  part  in  them,  and  on  other  intelligent  observers, 
for  in  a  very  striking  manner  these  gatherings  show  the 
brotherhood  of  man  and  the  co-operation  of  scholars  in  the 
advancement  of  knowledge.  That  intercourse  by  epistles,  of 
which  we  have  voluminous  records  in  the  correspondence  of 
Erasmus,  of  Leibnitz,  and  many  others;  that  careful  making 
notes  of  personalities,  such  as  we  see  in  the  diary  of  Dr.  Stiles, 
recently  printed,  have  given  way  to  the  well-edited  periodicals 
which  nowadays  embody  the  notes  and  progress  in  every 
branch  of  learning.  Modern  ingenuity  and  necessities  have 
also  devised  innumerable  societies,  associations,  and  acad- 
emies which  hold  frequent  meetings  for  those  engaged  in 
similar  pursuits,  but  these  are  usually  restricted  to  the  citi- 
zens of  one  country,  and  to  those  who  are  bound  by  the  ties 
of  specialisation.  In  order  to  bring  together  scholars  of  many 
lands  and  of  all  departments,  literary  and  scientific,  the  rep- 
resentatives of  law,  medicine,  theology  and  philosophy,  great 
ceremonials  are  requisite,  and  the  universities  have  naturally 
become  the  places  for  them.  Everyone  who  has  participated 
in  the  jubilee  of  a  venerable  seat  of  learning  will  surely  carry 
with  him,  as  long  as  he  lives,  the  memory  of  the  faces,  the 
speeches,  the  greetings  of  those  whom  he  met,  nor  will  he  fail 
to  remember  the  unity  of  knowledge,  its  boundless  extent, 
the  importance  of  combined  efforts  for  its  advancement,  and 
likewise  the  inanity  of  rivalry,  the  pettiness  of  jealousy,  and 
the  joyfulness  of  association  for  the  good  of  mankind. 

There  are  lesser  festivals  which  also  leave  delightful 
memories ;  and  some  which  I  recall  stand  out  in  the  vista  of 
the  past  like  beacons  on  a  quiet  sea-shore.  For  example,  long 
after  the  first  sorrow  that  is  felt  when  a  man  of  mark  has  de- 
parted, a  commemorative  meeting  has  become  a  time  of 
rejoicing  that  such  a  man  has  lived  and  that  we  have  been 
permitted  to  come  under  his  inspiring  influence.  Fifty  years 
after  the  birth  of  Robert  Louis  Stevenson  we  commemorated, 


94      THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

in  Baltimore,  his  life  and  works.  Special  students  of  Eng- 
lish literature  wrote  short  and  appreciative  essays;  portraits 
and  letters,  and  examples  of  his  "  copy  "  were  brought  to  us 
by  one  of  his  friends,  Mr.  E.  L.  Burlingame,  the  editor  of 
Scribners  Magazine;  various  editions  of  his  books  were  ex- 
hibited, and  a  select  company  of  his  readers,  who  met  for  this 
commemoration,  felt  as  if  they  had  been  personally  intro- 
duced to  the  great  romancer  from  the  land  of  Scott.  A  simi- 
lar commemoration  brought  Professor  Francis  J.  Child  to 
mind. 

But  the  most  noteworthy  of  such  events  was  one  that  at- 
tracted many  people  from  a  distance  and  elicited  from  others 
who  could  not  come,  their  words  of  appreciation.  Sidney 
Lanier,  like  a  brilliant  comet,  appeared  on  our  horizon  in 
centennial  year,  when  his  ode,  written  for  the  opening  of  the 
Philadelphia  Exhibition,  drew  forth  the  cool  criticisms  of 
widely  scattered  readers  (who  did  not  appreciate  his  purpose 
in  the  composition),  and  almost  simultaneously,  enthusiastic 
plaudits  from  thousands  of  auditors  who  heard  the  rendering 
of  the  words  to  the  stirring  music  of  Dudley  Buck.  Lanier 
was  then  living  in  Baltimore,  known  to  many  as  a  player 
upon  the  flute  in  the  concerts  of  the  Peabody  Conservatory, 
and,  to  a  few  of  the  most  cultivated,  as  a  writer  of  verse,  as  a 
student  of  English  literature,  and  as  a  gifted  critic.  It  was 
natural  that  he  should  be  invited  to  lecture  before  the  uni- 
versity, and  an  invitation  to  do  so  he  gladly  accepted.  The 
summons  reached  him  in  a  period  of  great  despondency  and 
physical  distress.  He  was  exhilarated  by  the  opportunity 
and  did  his  best — and  his  best  was  very  good — to  inspire 
and  instruct  those  who  came  within  the  sound  of  his 
voice. 

In  the  second  of  the  two  courses  it  was  obvious  that  the 
hand  of  Death  had  touched  his  shoulder,  and  the  unwelcome 
presence  of  the  inevitable  was  perceptible  as  the  lecturer  tot- 
tered up  to  his  desk  and  delivered  his  message,  with  cheer, 


SIDNEY   LANIER  95 

sitting  resolute  and  buoyant  as  if  he  were  to  drink  "  a  stirrup 
cup."  When  he  died,  we  paid  to  his  memory  the  tributes  of 
grief  and  affection,  but  it  was  not  the  time  for  an  apprecia- 
tion of  his  poetry.  That  came  later. 

Seven  years  after  his  death  a  company  of  his  friends  came 
together  in  another  mood — less  mournful  because  there  had 
been  time  to  review  his  life  and  writings,  to  trace  his  in- 
fluence upon  those  whom  he  had  taught,  and  to  estimate  Ris 
rank  among  American  poets.  We  could  now  be  assured 
that  though  the  pen  had  fallen  from  his  hand  and  the  flute 
no  longer  responded  to  his  inspiration,  yet  the  melody  of  his 
voice  was  still  resonant,  and  the  memory  of  his  brave  life 
was  beginning  to  "  smell  sweet  and  blossom  in  the  dust." 

The  immediate  occasion  for  such  an  assembly  was  the  gift 
of  a  bronze  bust  of  Lanier,  modelled,  late  in  his  life,  by 
a  sculptor  of  Baltimore,  Ephraim  Keyser.  It  is  a  striking 
portrait  which  arrests  the  attention  of  every  passer-by,  by  its 
union  of  reality  and  ideality.  One  day  as  we  stood  beside  the 
pedestal  I  said  to  a  German  pathologist  who  had  never  heard 
of  Lanier,  "  He  was  a  poet  greatly  beloved  and  greatly 
mourned  by  us."  "  Hm,"  was  his  response,  "  tuberculosis." 
I  called  the  attention  of  another  visitor,  who  knew  some- 
thing of  Lanier,  to  the  same  portrait.  ''Yes,"  he  said, 
"  Christ-like." 

To  our  memorial  meeting  Lowell  wrote  of  Lanier  as  a 
man  of  genius  with  a  rare  gift  for  the  happy  word ;  Stedman 
said  of  him  that  he  had  "  conceived  of  a  method,  and  of  com- 
positions, which  could  only  be  achieved  by  the  effort  of  a  life 
extended  to  man's  full  term  of  years;  the  little  that  he  was 
able  to  do  belonged  to  the  very  outset  of  a  large  synthetic 
work  " ;  Gilder  spoke  of  the  recent  deaths  of  Emma  Lazarus, 
Sill,  and  Helen  Jackson,  followed  by  Lanier's  premature  de- 
parture, and  added :  "  Every  now  and  then  there  crystallised 
in  his  intense  and  musical  mind  a  lyric  of  such  diamond-like 
strength  and  lustre  that  it  can  no  more  be  lost  from  the 


96      THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

diadem  of  English  song  than  can  the  lyrics  of  Sidney  or  oi 
Herbert  " ;  Father  Tabb,  kindred  spirit,  friend  tried  in  ad- 
versity, read  a  memorial  sonnet ;  other  verses  came  from  Mrs. 
Turnbull,  and  from  Burton  and  Cummings,  who  had  been 
Lanier's  pupils;  and  Miss  Edith  M.  Thomas,  thinking  of  a 
line  of  Lanier's,  "  On  the  Paradise  Side  of  the  River  of 
Death,"  wrote  these  lines  which  I  copy  from  her  autograph, 
a  greatly  valued  memento : 

The  River  flows,  how  softly  flows 

(The  one  bank  green,  the  other  sere), 
How  sweet  the  wind  that  hither  blows. 

Its  breath  is  from  the  blightless  rose. 

Its  voice,  from  lips  of  leal  and  dear — 
The  River  flows,  how  softly  flows. 

Beyond,  in  dreams  the  spirit  goes, 

And  finds  each  lost  and  lovely  peer- 
How  sweet  the  wind  that  hither  blows. 

Brief  while  the  gleaming  vista  shows 

A  singing  throng  withdraws  from  here— 
The  River  flows,  how  softly  flows. 

There  mounts  the  winged  song,  there  glows 

The  ardour  white,  of  rare  Lanier — 
How  sweet  the  wind  that  hither  blows. 

His  voice  rang  fearless  to  the  close, 

He  sang  Death's  Cup  with  cordial  cheer — 
The  River  flows,  how  softly  flows: 
How  sweet  the  wind  that  hither  blows. 

It  is  delightful  to  observe  the  growing  reputation  of  the 
gifted  Lanier,  and  the  increasing  demand  for  all  that  he  has 
written.  Few  men  of  letters  in  our  land  have  left  a  more 
pathetic  or  a  more  inspiring  record.  Nothing  could  quench 
the  poetic  fire  that  burned  within  him.  The  res  angusta 
domi,  war,  confinement  in  a  military  prison,  continued  ill- 
health,  the  necessity  of  providing  support  for  a  large  family, 


SIDNEY   LANIER  97 

the  removal  of  his  home  from  place  to  place,  difficulty  after 
difficulty  never  broke  him  down. 

Always  cheerful,  always  gallant,  always  trustful — his  pres- 
ence in  any  company  was  quickening  and  inspiring.  Let  him 
enter  a  horse-car,  and  everyone  was  conscious  that  there  was 
a  man  of  mark;  let  him  come  upon  the  stage  in  a  concert- 
room,  a  buzz  would  go  through  the  audience ;  let  him  lecture, 
it  was  clear  that  he  was  one  who  would  uphold  the  loftiest 
ideals.  It  is  but  slight  praise  to  add  that  his  name  is  cherished 
in  Baltimore  as  a  priceless  heritage.  The  memoir  by  Professor 
Edwin  Mims,  of  Trinity  College,  North  Carolina,  admir- 
ably portrays  the  rare  character  of  Lanier. 

Sacred  memories  and  sad  will  always  linger  in  the  prin- 
cipal hall  of  our  physical  laboratory,  for  there  we  commemo- 
rated Rowland  after  we  had  placed  his  ashes  (according  to 
his  request)  in  a  vault  very  near  to  the  famous  dividing  en- 
gine, to  which  he  gave  so  much  of  his  time  and  thought.  Nor 
is  this  our  only  mournful  association  with  that  place.  Here 
it  was  that  Phillips  Brooks,  a  short  time  before  he  died,  met 
the  students  one  October  afternoon,  and  made  one  of  the  last, 
one  of  the  best,  one  of  the  most  effective  of  his  religious  dis- 
courses. As  he  spoke,  animated  by  an  audience  that  he  had 
never  met  before,  made  up  exclusively  of  students  and  their 
teachers,  not  a  few  of  the  listeners  were  impressed  by  the  al- 
most unearthly  looks  and  tone  with  which  his  uplifting 
message  was  delivered.  Not  long  afterward  his  voice  was 
silenced  forever,  and  then  the  fragmentary  notes  of  this  dis- 
course, taken  down  at  the  moment,  or  recalled  to  memory, 
were  transcribed  and  printed. 

Three  great  international  jurists  have  been  commemorated 
in  Baltimore — Bluntschli  of  Heidelberg,  Lieber  of  New 
York,  and  Laboulaye  of  Paris.  In  view  of  their  intimate  re- 
lations and  close  concord,  somebody  ( I  believe  it  was  Lieber) 
called  them  an  "  international  clover-leaf."  This  might 
pass  muster  as  a  metaphor,  but  when  photographs  of  the  three 


98      THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

faces  were  pasted  upon  a  huge  trifolium  the  metaphoi 
vanished  and  the  reality  was  more  amusing  than  artistic. 
Professor  Adams  had  been  the  pupil  of  Bluntschli,  and  on 
the  death  of  his  master  was  eager  to  secure  his  library.  The 
German  citizens  of  Baltimore  responded  instantly  to  his  wish, 
and  contributed  the  purchase-money,  and  when  the  books 
came  we  had  a  Bluntschli  celebration.  With  his  books  came 
his  manuscripts ;  and  this  led  Mrs.  Lieber  to  send  to  us  those 
of  her  husband ;  and,  later,  the  sons  of  Laboulaye  sent  us  in- 
teresting examples  of  his  handwriting.  The  portraits  of 
these  three  men  look  down  upon  the  cabinet  which  contains 
their  works,  exerting  a  silent  and  unconscious  influence  upon 
the  students  of  public  law. 

One  day  as  I  was  walking  down  our  thoroughfare,  North 
Charles  Street,  I  met  Mr.  Innes  Randolph,  of  local  dis- 
tinction as  a  man  of  versatile  talents.  "  See  here,"  said  he  tak- 
ing the  wrapper  off  of  a  number  of  marble  fragments,  "  this 
is  an  original  bust  of  Chief  Justice  Marshall.  I  am  going 
to  put  the  pieces  together  and  take  a  plaster  cast  of  them.  If 
I  succeed,  you  shall  have  a  copy."  Not  long  afterward  he 
brought  me  a  fine  cast  of  this  admirable  likeness  of  the  great 
jurist.  The  original  was  the  work  of  Houdon,  and  the  copy 
preserved  the  exquisite  chiselling  and  the  fine  expression  of  the 
marble.  I  showed  the  cast  to  the  American  sculptor,  Mr. 
William  W.  Story,  when  he  was  about  to  make  his  statue  of 
Marshall  for  Washington.  He  was  delighted  and  told  me 
that  he  had  seen  no  likeness  of  the  jurist  so  satisfactory  as  this. 
The  gift  of  Mr.  Randolph  suggested  that  we  should  have  a 
commemoration  of  Marshall,  so  we  invited  his  successor  in 
office,  Chief  Justice  Waite,  to  come  and  make  a  presentation 
address,  which  he  kindly  consented  to  do.  A  plaster  cast  at 
best  is  fragile,  but  by  the  generosity  of  a  lady  we  have  been  so 
fortunate  as  to  have  this  one  reproduced  in  bronze,  by  an 
artist  in  Paris,  and  a  copy  of  it  is  awarded  every  year  to  a 
graduate  student  who  shall  have  produced  some  noteworthy; 


HAUPTS  CUNEIFORM  LETTER     99 

and  meritorious  contribution  to  historical  and  political 
science.  Copies  of  the  replica  have  often  been  asked  for,  but 
none  can  be  obtained  except  in  the  regular  way  by  which 
Woodrow  Wilson,  Albert  Shaw,  and  others  have  gained  the 
prize. 

Certainly  the  rarest,  perhaps  the  most  remarkable  testi- 
monial ever  given  to  a  college  president  in  modern  times  was 
given  to  me.  It  was  a  unique  diploma,  and  these  are  the 
circumstances  under  which  it  came:  I  met  my  colleague, 
Professor  Paul  Haupt,  casually  at  the  Murray  Hill  Hotel,  in 
New  York,  and  mentioned  that  it  was  twenty-five  years  that 
very  day,  December  30,  1899,  since  I  was  called  from  Cali- 
fornia to  Baltimore.  We  parted  and  took  different  trains 
homeward.  Early  the  next  day  there  was  left  at  my  door  a 
letter  in  cuneiform  script,  which  Dr.  Haupt  had  composed 
upon  the  way  home,  and  lest  I  should  be  rusty  in  the  language 
of  Nineveh  and  Babylon  a  translation  came,  too.  A  little 
later  I  received  a  copy  of  the  same  letter,  cut  in  wedge- 
shaped  characters  upon  a  red  clay  tablet  and  baked,  so  that 
its  aspect  was  exactly  that  of  the  letters  exhumed  in  recent 
years  on  the  sites  of  ancient  Assyrian  cities.  The  language 
has  not  a  little  of  the  hyperbole  which  is  common  in  the 
flowery  phrases  of  the  Orientals,  so  I  shall  not  venture  to 
quote  from  it  more  than  the  opening  and  closing  lines.  In  a 
parallel  column  the  reader  may  read,  if  he  chooses,  a  translit- 
eration, in  Roman  characters,  of  the  wedge-shaped  characters, 
of  the  original  letter: 

To  the  great  chief,  Ana  asaridi  rabi 

Dani  'ilu  the  son  of  Gilmanu  Dani  'ili  mar  Gilmani 

thy   servant  Pa'ulu   the   son   of  arduka  Pa'ulu  mar  Xa  'upti. 

Ha'uptu : 

A  hearty,  hearty  greeting  to  my  Lu   iulmu   ana   beli  'a   adannil 

lord  1  addanniS ! 

On  the  auspicious  day  when  25  Ina  umi  mitgari  sa  ultu  XXV 

years  ago  sanati 


ioo    THE   LAUNCHING  OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

thou  wast  chosen  tannamiru  atta 

to   the   Presidency  of  the   great  ana    asariduti    sa    bit    mummu 

school ,  rabi 

the   house   of   teaching   and   in-  bit  sudi  u  lulmudi 

struction, 

the  seat  of  the  Lord  of  Inscrut-  subat   Bel    nimeqi 

able  Wisdom, 

established   in   the   Monumental  sa  ina  al  Calmani  uktinuni 

City— 


Thou  hast  erected  a  monument 
above  all  monuments  of  the 
Monumental  City. 

The  splendor  of  thy  name  is 
established  forever. 

Written   upon   the   swift  cars 

of  the  road  of  iron, 
between    the    City   of   Brotherly 

Love     and     the     Monumental 

City, 
on    the    soth    day    of    the    i2th 

month  of  the  year  of  our  Lord 

1899 


qalmu   tazqup 
eli  calmani  kalisunu 
sa  al  Calmani 

melamme  sumika  ana  balat  ume 
ruquti   taltakan. 

Sa^ir    ina    eli    rukube    xitmututi 
Sa    sulli  barzilli 

ina   berit   al   Naram-axuti   u   al 
Calmani 

ina  urn  XXX  sa  arax  XII  satti 
Belini  MDCCCXCIX. 


I  shall  never  forget  a  certain  illustration  of  the  narrow 
margin  between  the  sublime  and  the  ridiculous.  Professor 
Royce,  of  Harvard  College,  came  to  repeat  in  Baltimore  a 
very  serious  philosophical  essay  which  he  had  read  at  Har- 
vard, and  which  was  strongly  commended  to  us  by  Dr.  An- 
drew P.  Peabody.  I  will  not  state  his  exact  line  of  thought, 
but  after  he  had  been  speaking  for  nearly  half  an  hour  in  a 
room  that  was  crowded  and,  I  must  add,  not  well  ventilated, 
he  paused,  having  left  a  solemn  impression  on  the  minds  of 
his  audience  respecting  a  fundamental  truth.  As  we  were 
sitting  there  silent,  thoughtful,  and  expectant,  a  voice  came 
from  the  middle  of  the  hall,  and  one  of  the  auditors  said, 
with  emphasis:  "Let  us  hear  the  other  side  of  that  ques- 
tion." We  looked  around  to  discover  the  speaker,  and  those 


READY   WIT   OF   MR.   WALLIS          101 

of  us  who  were  in  front  recognised  a  distinguished  judge  of 
the  Federal  Court.  None  of  us  could  tell  what  he  meant  by 
this  abrupt  and  judicial  utterance.  The  interruption  was 
brief  and  the  lecture  went  on  as  it  began.  I  had  hardly 
reached  home  when  a  note  came  to  me  from  the  judge  to 
this  effect :  "  I  must  apologise  for  that  extraordinary  inter- 
ruption. The  truth  is  that  the  room  was  warm,  I  had  just 
dined,  the  lecture  was  serious,  and  I  dropped  asleep.  When 
the  lecturer  ceased  to  speak,  I  suddenly  awoke,  and,  thinking 
I  was  on  the  bench,  called  out,  *  Let  us  hear  the  other  side 
of  that  question.' " 

When  the  Johns  Hopkins  University  began  its  work  all 
the  members  were  lonesome.  The  faculty  was  small,  the 
students  few,  the  graduates  none.  A  good  many  squibs  were 
fired  at  us  in  the  newspapers.  We  came  from  distant  parts 
of  the  country  and  from  abroad,  we  were  educated  by 
different  methods,  we  were  not  quite  sure  of  one  another. 
We  were  to  be  welded  into  a  compact  body.  But  weld- 
ing requires  heat,  and,  after  the  novelty  wore  off,  our  en- 
thusiasm was  lessened,  and  we  began  to  long  for  the  warmth 
of  sympathy.  To  promote  good-fellowship  a  suggestion  was 
made  that  all  college  graduates  living  in  Baltimore  should 
be  invited  to  meet  together  and  dine.  The  idea  found  favour, 
and  on  Washington's  Birthday  a  large  company  of  educated 
men,  having  listened  to  the  public  exercises  of  the  morning, 
assembled  for  a  social  hour  around  a  well-spread  table  in  the 
Academy  of  Music.  By  common  consent  Mr.  Teackle 
Wallis,  most  brilliant  among  the  leaders  of  the  bar,  a  man 
of  wit  and  eloquence,  of  fire  and  grace,  was  invited  to  pre- 
side, and  he  did  so  with  spirit  and  tact.  Presently  he  pro- 
posed the  sentiment,  "  The  Universities  of  Great  Britain," 
and  he  called  upon  Professor  Sylvester  to  respond.  The 
famous  mathematician  rose,  uttered  a  few  half-audible  com- 
monplaces, halted,  searched  his  vest-pocket  in  vain  for  notes, 
and  sat  down,  saying,  as  he  did  so :  "I  ought  to  have  pre- 


or  THI 
UNIVERSITY 


102    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

pared  myself  for  this  occasion,  but  instead  I  went  to  the 
opera  last  evening,  for  I  could  not  miss  the  opportunity  of 
hearing  Gerster;  so  I  beg  to  be  excused."  It  is  needless  to 
say  that  the  audience,  who  expected  from  him  something  un- 
usual, did  not  expect  this  sort  of  a  surprise.  Quick  as  a 
flash,  the  presiding  officer,  Mr.  Wallis,  was  on  his  feet, 
smiling  at  the  discomfited  professor  and  saying,  "  I  hope  that 
will  always  be  the  motto  of  the  Johns  Hopkins  University — 
Opera  non  Verba" 

I  have  heard  travellers  say  that  the  pleasantest  part  of 
travel  is  the  coming  home.  I  have  sometimes  thought  so,  and 
I  have  also  thought  that  the  pleasantest  part  of  life  is  its 
closing  chapter,  when  memories  take  the  place  of  hopes, 
cares  are  lessened,  opportunities  are  enlarged,  and  friend- 
ships multiplied  and  intensified.  If  I  were  to  follow  the 
example  of  Lecky,  and  draw  the  "  Map  of  Life  "  with  such 
cartographical  knowledge  as  has  come  to  me,  I  should  mark 
the  age  of  seventy  as  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  for  the 
cheer  of  those  who  are  doubling  this  cape  I  should  show  that 
it  leads  to  a  Pacific  sea  within  whose  bounds  lie  the  For- 
tunate Isles. 

It  is  certainly  a  great  delight  to  look  far  back  upon  under- 
graduate days,  to  follow  the  careers  of  classmates  and  friends, 
to  recall  the  preferment  of  colleagues  and  associates,  and  it 
is  beyond  all  other  academic  pleasures  to  see  how  large  a 
proportion  of  former  pupils  have  risen  to  distinction  and 
usefulness  in  the  various  walks  of  life.  When  I  go  back  to 
New  Haven  and  find  that  "old  Yale,"  if  that  means  the 
group  of  buildings,  has  completely  changed  from  brick  to 
stone ;  and  if  "  old  Yale  "  means  the  faculty,  that  all  my 
teachers  lie  in  the  Campo  Santo  while  their  successors  are 
turning  grey,  a  moment's  sadness  comes  over  me,  but  it  soon 
gives  way  to  grateful  remembrance,  and  the  regrets  that  are 
inevitable  lead  up  to  the  satisfaction  that  though  the  body 
has  perished,  the  spirit  of  "  old  Yale  "  is  still  alive  and  pres- 


UNIVERSITY   OF   CALIFORNIA  103 

ent.  How  it  is  possible  for  anyone  to  be  a  pessimist  when 
such  progress  is  studied,  I  cannot  understand. 

California,  in  a  different  way  from  that  of  Connecticut, 
affords  striking  examples  of  the  educational  advances  of  the 
last  few  years.  The  men  who  crossed  the  isthmus  and  went 
around  the  cape  when  gold  was  discovered,  have  lived  to  see 
the  day  when  two  strong  universities,  the  one  fostered  by  the 
State,  and  the  other  endowed  by  private  munificence,  are  at- 
tended by  thousands  of  students,  who  have  access  to  the  very 
best  books  and  instruments,  and  are  taught  by  teachers  whose 
reputation  for  learning  and  talents  is  everywhere  acknowl- 
edged. 

I  went  back  to  Berkeley,  twenty-five  years  after  I  had 
seen  the  infant  university  transferred  from  Oakland  to  its 
new  and  permanent  home,  directly  in  face  of  the  Golden 
Gate.  On  a  bright  afternoon  in  autumn  thousands  of  peo- 
ple were  assembled  upon  the  campus  in  the  open  air  to  wel- 
come Dr.  Benjamin  I.  Wheeler,  just  entering  upon  his  ca- 
reer as  president  of  the  University  of  California,  and  to  hear 
his  inaugural  address.  Dr.  Jordan,  already  wonted  to  the 
cares  of  the  Stanford  University,  was  there  to  give  a  right 
hand  of  fellowship,  and  I  had  been  brought  from  the  East  to 
show  the  connection  between  the  present  and  the  past. 
Around  us  were  a  score  of  academic  buildings.  Pleasant 
houses  lined  the  streets,  which  bore  the  names  of  Dwight 
and  Bushnell  and  other  Eastern  worthies.  In  the  distance 
we  could  look  out  of  the  Golden  Gate  to  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

I  will  not  endeavour  to  show  how  much  history  was  here 
brought  to  mind,  from  the  days  when  Sir  Francis  Drake 
sailed  along  this  coast,  to  the  time  when  Alaska  was  bought, 
the  Sandwich  Islands  annexed,  and  the  more  distant  Philip- 
pines brought  under  our  sway.  But  the  nearer  lessons  were 
likewise  vivid.  It  was  hardly  sixty  years  since  a  Yale  geol- 
ogist, exploring  the  coast,  had  descried  the  signs  of  gold;  it 
was  half  a  century  since  the  auri  sacra  fames  had  brought  to 


104    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

the  Pacific  Slope  the  strong  men  of  the  Eastern  States,  ready 
to  supplant  the  institutions  of  Spain  with  those  of  the  United 
States.  Among  them  were  those  who  were  determined  that, 
like  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut,  California  should  begin 
its  new  era  with  a  college  crowning  the  system  of  education. 
Some  of  these  pioneers  were  still  living.  In  the  middle  of 
the  campus  we  stood  upon  the  rock  where  the  name  of 
Berkeley  was  proposed  as  the  name  of  the  university  site,  a 
rock  upon  which  have  been  cut  the  prophetic  words,  "  West- 
ward the  course  of  empire  takes  its  way."  Yet  the  best 
sight  of  all  was  the  throng  of  well-educated  men  and  women 
here  assembled,  imbued  with  the  love  of  knowledge,  trained 
for  the  highest  service  of  the  church  and  state,  by  agencies 
introduced  only  fifty  years  ago.  The  scene  was  a  tableau 
displaying  the  growth  of  an  idea.  The  knowledge  of  such 
progress  should  be  assuring  to  those  in  our  Southern  States 
who  are  now  beginning  new  movements  for  the  advancement 
of  public  education. 

As  I  thus  consider  the  last  few  years,  the  most  remark- 
able change,  among  all  that  occur  to  me  in  the  domain  of 
education,  is  the  recognition  of  the  university  as  an  entity 
distinct  from  the  college.  This  is  not  an  American  discov- 
ery, nor  is  it  a  triumph  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Colleges 
and  universities  have  not  been  confounded  in  Europe.  Nor 
did  our  forefathers  lose  the  perception  of  a  difference.  So 
far  back  as  1777,  the  famous  President  Stiles  drew  up  a  plan 
of  a  university  for  New  Haven,  which  is  mentioned  in  his 
diary,  lately  published  by  Professor  Dexter.  The  word  was 
used  much  earlier  in  Harvard.  Nevertheless,  it  is  true  that 
the  American  college  grew  to  be  so  important  and  so  well 
adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  community  that  it  obscured  the 
university  idea.  Even  so  recently  as  the  middle  of  the  last 
century  universities  were  commonly  regarded  as  groups  of 
schools  and  establishments  for  superior  education.  So  are 
they  still.  This  is  as  it  should  be.  But  the  scope  of  univer- 


UNIVERSITY  IDEA   RECOGNISED        105 

sities  has  broadened,  as  the  progress  of  society  has  demanded 
facilities  for  study  in  many  branches  of  knowledge,  superior 
to  what  can  be  provided  for  undergraduates.  Science  has 
demanded  laboratories ;  letters  have  demanded  libraries,  and 
with  them  seminaries  for  the  handling  of  books.  Thus  the 
distinction  between  gymnasia,  where  discipline  and  training 
are  received,  and  the  race-courses,  where  the  runners  are 
striving  for  a  prize,  has  been  defined.  The  words  "  college  " 
and  "  university  "  are  still  confounded  by  the  fetters  of  usage 
and  nomenclature,  but  the  difference  between  enlarged 
university  methods,  adapted  to  matured  minds,  and  the 
restricted  methods  essential  to  youthful  discipline  are  gener- 
ally admitted.  For  want  of  a  better  term,  "  graduate  stud- 
ies "  is  the  term  that  has  come  into  vogue  for  higher  work. 
Yale,  Princeton,  and  Columbia  have  changed  their  corporate 
names  so  as  to  emphasise  their  changing  conditions.  Scores 
of  institutions  now  offer,  at  least  in  their  catalogues,  "  grad- 
uate "  instruction — although  it  is  often  of  an  unsatisfactory 
and  rudimentary  character,  and  there  is  a  serious  danger  that 
the  country  will  soon  have  a  superfluity  of  feeble  universi- 
ties, as  it  has  had  a  superfluity  of  poorly  endowed  colleges. 
Reaction  has  begun.  The  stronger  foundations  have  com- 
bined in  an  informal  federation;  and  colleges  of  the  highest 
character  are  saying,  "  We  claim  to  be  colleges,  and  make 
no  pretence  that  we  are  anything  else." 

The  effect  of  this  movement  has  been  seen  in  the  profes- 
sional schools,  which  were  formerly  open  to  persons  who  had 
shown  no  preparation  for  the  work  they  were  called  upon  to 
undertake.  Now  in  the  best  schools  of  medicine,  law,  and 
theology  the  presentation  of  a  diploma  or  the  passing  of  a 
prescribed  examination  is  requisite.  If  they  have  not  yet  be- 
come schools  for  graduates,  the  tendency  is  in  that  direction. 
Coincidently,  the  colleges  are  offering  greater  freedom  in  the 
choice  of  courses.  Special  preparation  for  certain  future  call- 
ings may  be  secured  by  undergraduates,  by  means  of  the 


io6    THE   LAUNCHING   OF  A  UNIVERSITY 

group  system  in  some  one  of  its  modifications,  or  by  absolute 
election.  In  no  one  of  the  professions  is  preliminary  train- 
ing more  important  than  it  is  in  medicine.  The  physician 
should  indeed  be  a  man  of  liberal  culture,  but  he  must  also 
be  a  man  of  technical  skill,  and  that  technical  skill  can  only 
be  acquired  by  habits  of  close  observation,  by  a  knowledge 
of  the  physical  and  chemical  laws  of  nature,  by  familiarity 
with  the  forms  and  functions  of  plants  and  the  lower  ani- 
mals. Probably  the  most  remarkable  advances  in  higher 
education  within  the  last  twenty-five  years  are  to  be  found  in 
medicine.  Still  greater  advances  are  already  in  sight. 

These  reminiscences  were  in  type  when  two  incidents  oc- 
curred, among  the  pleasantest  and  most  remarkable  in  a  long 
experience  of  academic  life.  I  gave  up  the  presidential  chair 
in  the  Johns  Hopkins  University,  not  because  I  was  tired  of 
it,  not  because  I  was  conscious  of  bodily  infirmity,  but  out  of 
deference  to  the  widespread  usage  of  this  country,  which 
suggests  that,  at  a  certain  age,  seniors  should  make  way  for 
juniors.  The  unanimous  choice  of  a  successor,  President 
Remsen;  generous  additions  to  our  resources,  especially  the 
new  site  offered  by  Baltimore  friends;  and  the  enthusiasm  of 
our  graduates  when  they  assembled  to  celebrate  our  twenty- 
fifth  anniversary,  have  given  abundant  evidence  that  the  time 
for  a  change  of  administration  was  felicitous. 

I  was  looking  forward  to  a  period  of  comparative  leisure, 
when  an  interview  with  Mr.  Andrew  Carnegie,  the  evan- 
gelist of  beneficence  (as  I  venture  to  call  him),  who  has 
preached  and  practised  "  the  gospel  of  wealth,"  completely 
altered  the  outlook.  Near  the  end  of  November,  1901,  I 
called  upon  him,  by  invitation,  at  his  library  in  New  York, 
where  he  was  sitting  surrounded  with  books  and  pictures  and 
by  innumerable  testimonials  of  affection  and  gratitude.  On 
the  walls  were  mottoes  that  seem  to  have  been  the  guides  of 
his  life.  One  person  was  present. 

I  cannot  repeat  the  conversation  of  that  morning,  although 


CARNEGIE   INSTITUTION  107 

the  principal  remarks  of  Mr.  Carnegie  are  impressed  upon 
my  memory.  He  was  in  a  very  thoughtful  mood,  inclined 
to  ask  searching  questions,  and  quite  able  to  keep  his  own 
counsel.  At  length  he  said:  "I  am  willing  to  give  ten 
millions  for  an  institution  the  purpose  of  which  shall  be  the 
advancement  of  knowledge."  This  was  not  all  that  he  said, 
but  it  is  all  that  I  tell.  It  is  quite  enough,  for  in  that  single 
phrase  is  the  germ  of  the  extraordinary  plans  that  have  since 
been  developed.  People  who  have  never  made  large  gifts 
think  it  an  easy  matter  to  organise  "  an  institution.'*  Those 
who  have  tried  find  it  difficult.  With  several  such  per- 
sons I  have  had  confidential  relations,  and  I  have  seen  that 
(to  use  the  Quaker  phrase)  they  have  had  "  concerns."  One 
"  concern  "  is  whom  to  trust,  the  other  "  concern  "  is  what 
to  confide.  It  was  by  no  means  a  simple  or  an  easy  task  to 
organise  the  Carnegie  Institution.  Precedents  were  wanting. 

Mr.  Carnegie  raised  many  hard  questions:  How  is  it  that 
knowledge  is  increased?  How  can  rare  intellects  be  discov- 
ered in  the  undeveloped  stages?  Where  is  the  exceptional 
man  to  be  found?  Would  a  new  institution  be  regarded  as 
an  injury  to  Johns  Hopkins,  or  to  Harvard,  Yale,  Colum- 
bia, or  any  other  university  ?  What  should  the  term  "  know- 
ledge "  comprise?  Who  should  be  the  managers  of  the  insti- 
tution? How  broad  or  how  restricted  should  be  the  terms 
of  the  gift? 

These  are  only  examples  of  the  perplexing  problems  which 
presented  themselves  to  one  who  was  not  anxious  for  fame; 
not  devoted  to  a  hobby;  not  inclined  to  impose  limitations, 
but  who  had  an  eye  single  to  the  good  of  his  adopted  coun- 
try, and  through  our  country  to  the  good  of  the  world. 

It  will  not  do  for  me  to  tell  at  this  time  who  were  his 
chosen  counsellors  in  the  incipient  stages  of  his  plan,  but  they 
were  many  in  number,  including  some  whose  names  have  not 
been  publicly  mentioned.  Gradually  the  idea,  which  was 
seen  at  first  in  broad  outlines  only,  took  definite  shape,  as, 


io8    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

under  the  sculptor's  hands,  an  image  becomes  shapely, 
comely,  and  life-like. 

It  was  the  original  purpose  of  Mr.  Carnegie  to  make  the 
gift  directly  to  the  nation,  and  for  that  reason  he  communi- 
cated an  outline  of  his  plan  to  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  by  whom  it  was  received  with  the  most  generous  ap- 
preciation. Reflection  led  to  a  change.  On  the  whole,  it 
was  thought  best  to  organise  an  independent  corporation,  or 
body  of  trustees,  and  charge  them  with  carrying  out  the 
project.  Upon  such  a  board  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  the  President  of  the  Senate,  and  the  Speaker  of  the 
House  consented  to  serve,  ex  officio. 

The  secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  Mr.  Lang- 
ley,  and  the  president  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences, 
Mr.  Agassiz,  were  also  officially  designated  members  of  the 
Board. 

Three  members  of  the  Cabinet  were  added  by  name,  a 
justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  two  other  distinguished  judges, 
several  business  men  of  the  highest  standing,  a  lawyer  and 
diplomatist  of  international  fame,  heads  of  two  governmental 
bureaus,  the  chief  of  the  New  York  Public  Library,  a  dis- 
tinguished physician,  a  Senator,  and  two  men  who  had  been 
prominent  in  the  promotion  of  higher  education.  They  rep- 
resented every  part  of  the  country — from  Boston  to  San 
Francisco,  from  Chicago  to  New  Orleans.  I  do  not  know 
that  anyone  could  state  the  political  or  ecclesiastical  ties  of 
the  Board.  Every  one  of  the  trustees  has  been  long  in  public 
service  or  wonted  to  the  administration  of  important  trusts.1 

1  Trustees  elected  by  the  incorporators  at  the  request  of  the 
founder.  Ex-officio:  The  President  of  the  United  States;  tie  Presi- 
dent of  the  Senate ;  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives ;  the 
secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution ;  the  president  of  the 
National  Academy  of  Sciences. — Grover  Cleveland,  New  Jersey; 
John  S.  Billings,  New  York;  William  E.  Dodge;  William  N.  Frew, 
Pennsylvania;  Lyman  P.  Gage,  Illinois;  Daniel  C.  Gilman,  Mary- 
land; John  Hay,  District  of  Columbia;  Abram  S.  Hewitt,  New 


CARNEGIE   INSTITUTION  109 

Then  came  another  incident  more  memorable  than  the  in- 
terview I  have  described  and,  perhaps,  more  important.  By 
invitation  of  Hon.  John  Hay,  Secretary  of  State,  the  trustees 
assembled  for  the  first  time  January  29,  1902,  in  the  diplo- 
matic room  of  the  State  Department.  It  is  truly  a  state 
apartment — spacious  and  handsomely  furnished,  the  walls 
covered  by  portraits  of  the  distinguished  predecessors  of  Mr. 
Hay.  Just  above  the  chair  of  the  presiding  officer  were  the 
likenesses  of  Daniel  Webster  and  Lord  Ashburton,  as  if  the 
old  country  and  the  new  were  alike  cognizant  of  the  pro- 
ceeding. The  formal  articles  of  incorporation  having  been 
read,  and  temporary  officers  chosen,  the  princely  giver  rose 
and  read  his  deed  of  gift.  It  was  brief,  in  legal  form,  be- 
stowing the  sum  of  $10,000,000  on  the  Carnegie  Institution 
for  the  Advancement  of  Knowledge.  The  restrictions  were 
very  simple  and  very  wise.  Mr.  Carnegie  then  added  a  few 
remarks.  I  am  not  sure  whether  he  read  them  or  spoke  them 
— but  the  substance  of  what  he  said  has  been  placed  on  rec- 
ord, and  it  will  always  be  regarded  as  the  spontaneous  utter- 
ance of  a  full  mind  at  a  very  critical  moment. 

In  these  three  papers  it  is  made  clear  that  the  Carnegie 
Institution  is  not,  as  it  has  been  called,  a  "  university  "  or  a 
place  for  the  systematic  education  of  youth,  in  advanced  or 
professional  departments  of  knowledge.  Nor  is  it  a  memo- 
rial to  George  Washington.  Mr.  Carnegie  disclaimed  any 
intention  of  associating  his  name  with  that  of  one  who  stands 
alone.  Its  chief  function  is  the  encouragement  of  research. 
This  may  be  done  by  stipends  to  individuals  or  to  institu- 

Jersey;  Henry  L.  Higginson,  Massachusetts;  Henry  Hitchcock, 
Missouri;  Charles  H.  Hutchinson,  Illinois;  William  Lindsay,  Ken- 
tucky; Seth  Low,  New  York;  Wayne  MacVeagh,  Pennsylvania;  D. 
O.  Mills,  New  York;  S.  Weir  Mitchell,  Pennsylvania;  William  W. 
Morrow,  California;  Elihu  Root,  New  York;  John  C.  Spooner,  Wis- 
consin; Andrew  D.  White,  New  York;  Edward  D.  White,  Louisiana; 
Charles  D.  Walcott,  District  of  Columbia;  Carroll  D.  Wright^  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia. 


I  io    THE   LAUNCHING  OF  A   UNIVERSITY 

tions,  by  the  provision  of  costly  apparatus,  by  the  payment 
of  assistants,  or  by  the  publication  of  memoirs.  No  branch 
of  knowledge  is  excluded  from  the  scope  of  the  trustees.  No 
fetters  are  imposed  upon  their  action.  They  are  expected 
to  see  what  the  suggestions  of  the  wisest  men  in  the  land  will 
bring  forth. 

It  is  clear  that  in  the  development  of  this  plan,  the  advice 
of  the  ablest  men  must  be  sought.  Accordingly,  it  is  the  pur- 
pose of  the  Executive  Committee,  acting  in  the  name  of  the 
Trustees,  to  ask  the  counsel  of  the  wisest  of  our  countrymen. 
They  will  not  all  be  famous  men.  Some  are  known  only  in 
very  limited  circles — they  are  quiet  men  who  are  working 
out  great  problems,  free  from  the  observation  of  all  except 
those  whose  studies  are  kindred.  Others  are  known  through- 
out this  country  and  in  Europe.  Some  may  be  found  abroad. 
Already  many  valuable  suggestions  have  been  made ;  more  are 
coming  in.  It  will  not  be  long  before  a  group  of  astrono- 
mers are  asked  their  advice  in  astronomy;  of  biologists  in 
biology;  of  chemists  in  chemistry;  of  economists  in  econom- 
ics— so  on  through  the  alphabet  of  the  sciences.  After  this 
preliminary  reconnaissance,  a  report  and  a  plan  will  be  pre- 
pared, and  the  conclusions  made  public.  This  will  take  time, 
months,  certainly.  But  the  opportunity  is  one  that  requires 
the  most  careful  consideration,  for  everyone  knows  that  insti- 
tutions which  are  plastic  in  their  incipiency  soon  harden  like 
cement. 

It  is  obvious  that  at  present,  certainly,  there  is  no  need  of 
a  stately  building,  like  that  of  the  Smithsonian ;  no  occasion 
to  establish  a  Reichsanstalt,  like  that  of  Charlottenburg,  for 
the  government  has  its  efficient  bureau  of  standards;  no  rea- 
son for  adding  one  to  the  libraries  and  laboratories  of  Wash- 
ington before  some  special  need  is  manifest.  Avoid  duplica- 
tion; help  that  which  is  good,  and  will  be  better  with  some 
assistance;  seek  out  untrodden  but  promising  fields  of  in- 
quiry; utilise  existing  faculties  instead  of  building  up  a  new 


INCIDENTS    OF   EARLY   YEARS          in 

academic  body.    Look  out  for  minds  of  unusual  capacity  and 
promise. 

These  are  the  purposes  of  the  Institution  as  stated  by  the 
wise  and  munificent  founder: 

1.  To  promote  original  research,  paying  great  attention  thereto  as 
one  of  the  most  important  of  all  departments. 

2.  To  discover  the  exceptional  man  in  every  department  of  study 
whenever  and  wherever  found,  inside  or  outside  of  schools,  and 
enable  him  to  make  the  work  for  which  he  seems  specially  designed 
his  life-work. 

3.  To  increase  facilities  for  higher  education. 

4.  To  increase   the  efficiency  of  the   universities   and  other  in- 
stitutions of  learning  throughout  the  country,  by  utilising  and  adding 
to  their  existing  facilities  and  aiding  teachers  in  the  various  in- 
stitutions for  experimental  and  other  work,  in  these  institutions  as 
far  as  advisable. 

5.  To  enable  such  students  as  may  find  Washington  the  best  point 
for  their  special  studies,  to  enjoy  the  advantages  of  the  museums, 
libraries,  laboratories,  observatory,  meteorological,  piscicultural,  and 
forestry  schools,  and  kindred  institutions  of  the  several  departments 
of  the  government. 

6.  To  insure  the  prompt  publication  and  distribution  of  the  re- 
sults of  scientific  investigation,  a  field  considered  highly  important. 

In  one  comprehensive  phrase  he  stated  his  aim  as  follows: 

It  is  proposed  to  found  in  the  city  of  Washington  an  institution 
which  with  the  cooperation  of  institutions  now  or  hereafter  estab- 
lished, there  or  elsewhere,  shall  in  the  broadest  and  most  liberal 
manner  encourage  investigation,  research,  and  discovery;  show  the 
application  of  knowledge  to  the  improvement  of  mankind;  pro- 
vide such  buildings,  laboratories,  books,  and  apparatus,  as  may  be 
needed;  and  afford  instruction  of  an  advanced  character  to  students 
properly  qualified  to  profit  thereby. 

Is  not  this  conception  of  a  plan  and  its  inception  unique  in 
the  history  of  civilisation?  I  know  of  nothing  to  compare 
with  it. 

When  I  began  this  series  of  reminiscences,  I  could  not 


ii2    THE  LAUNCHING  OF  A  UNIVERSITY 

have  forecast  this  last  development.  Perhaps  I  have  dwelt  too 
long  upon  it.  If  so,  my  apology  is  the  profound  interest 
which  has  been  shown  in  Mr.  Carnegie's  plans,  and  the  op- 
portunity that  I  have  to  speak  of  a  few  points  "  not  gener- 
ally known."  The  public  may  rest  assured  that  the  trustees 
are  all  of  them  alive  to  their  responsibilities,  and  are  seeking, 
before  the  full  initiation  of  the  work  intrusted  to  them,  to 
secure  the  light  that  many  men  of  many  minds  will  throw 
upon  the  problem.  They  will  endeavour  to  follow  the  wise 
example  of  the  founder,  and  seek  only  to  promote  the  prog- 
ress of  knowledge  and  the  good  of  mankind. 


PUBLICATIONS 


mi 

PUBLICATIONS 

I  WILL  now  tell  the  origin  of  the  publications  which  have 
been  such  a  noteworthy  factor  in  the  usefulness  of  the  Johns 
Hopkins  University.  While  I  was  on  the  continent  of 
Europe  my  attention  was  constantly  called  to  the  import- 
ance of  encouraging  professors  to  engage  in  independent  in- 
vestigations, and  of  providing  means  for  the  publication  of 
such  results  as  they  might  reach.  In  Germany,  especially,  it 
was  regarded  as  essential  to  the  life  of  a  vigorous  university 
that  it  should  make  contributions  to  knowledge,  through  the 
members  of  its  staff.  The  Smithsonian  Institution  of  Wash- 
ington had  set  an  admirable  example  in  our  own  country. 
The  American  Journal  of  Science  had  been  for  many  years  a 
repository  of  important  papers.  The  Memoirs  of  the  Har- 
vard Astronomical  Observatory,  and  of  the  United  States 
Naval  Observatory,  within  their  restricted  field,  were  serv- 
iceable. The  Journal  of  the  American  Oriental  Society 
and  of  the  American  Philological  Association  were  limited 
by  want  of  pecuniary  support.  The  Proceedings  of  such  so- 
cieties as  the  American  Academy,  the  American  Philosophical 
Society,  the  Connecticut  Academy,  and  the  American  As- 
sociation for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  and  other  serials, 
furnished  to  some  extent  opportunities  for  printing,  but  all  of 
them  combined  were  inadequate  to  the  demands  of  American 
investigators.  Professor  Newcomb  in  an  article  on  Abstract 
Science  in  America,  published  in  the  centennial  number 
(1876),  of  the  North  American  Review  f  made  a  vivid  por- 
trayal of  the  deficiencies  of  the  United  States. 

When  Sylvester  agreed  to  come  to  Baltimore,  he  was  re- 

115 


ii6    THE   LAUNCHING   OF  A   UNIVERSITY 

quested  to  bring  with  him  the  Mathematical  Journal,  of 
which  he  had  been  one  of  the  editors,  but  this  was  not  practic- 
able. His  American  colleague,  Dr.  W.  E.  Story,  inde- 
pendently proposed  the  establishment  of  an  American  Journal 
of  Mathematics,  and,  after  a  good  deal  of  correspondence,  it 
was  decided  to  begin  such  a  journal,  in  a  quarterly  form,  and 
to  ask  the  concurrent  editorial  aid  of  professors  in  other  uni- 
versities. It  was  intended  that  the  Journal  should  be  open 
freely  to  contributors  in  any  part  of  the  country.  This  im- 
portant periodical  has  now  reached  its  twenty-ninth  volume. 

The  beginning  of  the  American  Chemical  Journal  was 
quite  different.  As  soon  as  Professor  Remsen  began  his 
duties  he  wished  to  publish  the  contributions  to  chemistry 
which  were  made  in  the  laboratory  under  his  charge,  and  he 
asked  leave  of  the  Trustees  to  print,  from  time  to  time,  such 
reports.  As  it  was  thought  best  that  they  should  appear  in 
an  established  journal,  the  editors  of  the  American  Journal 
of  Science  in  New  Haven  were  asked  to  accept  them.  They 
declined,  because  their  pages  were  more  than  full.  Then  an 
effort  was  made  to  secure  their  publication  as  supplementary 
communications  to  be  separately  paid  for,  like  those  which 
were  printed  by  Professor  Marsh  respecting  his  discoveries. 
This  proposition  was  also  declined.  The  Professor  of 
Chemistry  then  proposed  to  publish  a  journal,  and  to  open 
its  pages  to  other  chemists  throughout  the  country;  and 
thus  began  the  series  which  has  continued,  without  inter- 
ruption, until  the  present  time.  It  was  meant  to  be  an 
American,  not  a  local  journal. 

Professor  Gildersleeve  likewise  felt  the  need  of  a  journal 
which  should  be  devoted  to  classical  and  comparative 
philology;  and  he  was  encouraged  by  the  Trustees  to  es- 
tablish the  periodical  which  he  has  edited  without  interrup- 
tion from  that  time  until  this.  In  1876  there  was  nothing  in 
the  field  except  a  meagre  annual  pamphlet  issued  by  the 
American  Philological  Association  and  the  learned  memoirs 


PUBLICATIONS  117 

published  under  the  supervision  of  Professor  Whitney,  by 
the  American  Oriental  Society.  The  American  Journal  of 
Philology  met  with  immediate  success.  It  was  so  success- 
ful that,  before  very  long,  corresponding  publications  ap- 
peared elsewhere.  In  Baltimore  the  Journal  of  Modern 
Languages  was  instituted,  first  at  the  expense  of  the  Profes- 
sor of  Romance  Languages,  Dr.  A.  Marshall  Elliott,  and 
some  years  later  with  aid  from  the  University  chest. 

In  history  and  politics  many  able  students  were  soon  as- 
sembled, under  the  inspiring  leadership  of  Dr.  Herbert  B. 
Adams,  whose  instructions  were  reinforced  in  Economics  by 
Dr.  Richard  T.  Ely.  The  instructors  and  the  students 
made  investigations  especially  in  the  domain  of  American 
Institutional  History,  which  were  printed  in  successive  num- 
bers of  a  series  entitled,  "  Johns  Hopkins  University  Studies 
in  History  and  Politics."  These  papers  were  widely  circu- 
lated and  attracted  so  much  attention  that  persons  connected 
with  other  institutions  offered  their  contributions.  The  long 
series  published  under  this  title  constitutes  one  of  the  most 
important  works  of  reference  for  those  who  would  become  ac- 
quainted with  the  development  of  American  institutions. 
The  allusions  to  its  value  by  Professor  Freeman  and  by  John 
Fiske  are  not  to  be  overlooked. 

The  contributions  to  Assyriology  and  Semitic  Philology 
by  Dr.  Haupt,  deserve  special  mention,  and  there  is  a  long 
list  of  separate  volumes  which  would  be  included  if  this  were 
meant  to  be  a  bibliographical  list.  The  publications  of  the 
Maryland  Geological  Survey  and  of  the  Johns  Hopkins 
Medical  School  are  also  noteworthy. 


THE   JOHNS   HOPKINS   MEDICAL 
SCHOOL 


VIII 

THE  JOHNS   HOPKINS  MEDICAL   SCHOOL 

THE  early  days  of  the  Johns  Hopkins  Medical  School  are 
now  to  be  considered.  The  credit  of  seeing  the  importance  of 
so  uniting  University  and  Hospital  that  both  institutions 
might  contribute  to  the  cure  of  ailments,  the  advancement  of 
science,  and  the  training  of  physicians,  is  due  to  the  founder 
and  to  those  who  acted  with  him  in  the  beginning.  Prob- 
ably, among  the  most  influential  of  these  advisers  were 
Francis  T.  King  and  Charles  J.  M.  Gwinn.  As  I  have 
already  indicated  Mr.  King  had  what  has  been  called  "  a 
hospitable  mind."  He  was  on  the  alert  for  good  advice  and 
for  good  advisers.  He  gathered  from  many  fields.  He 
knew  the  difference  between  wheat  and  chaff,  and  with  almost 
automatic  precision  he  threw  aside  the  husks  and  stored  the 
kernels  found  in  every  load  of  corn.  With  the  instinct  of 
an  angler,  he  knew  where  to  find  and  how  to  land  the 
salmon  and  the  trout.  Before  the  ground  was  broken  for 
the  hospital  he  visited  other  infirmaries  to  observe  their 
merits  and  their  deficiencies.  His  knowledge  and  judgment 
commanded  the  confidence  of  his  colleagues  to  such  a  de- 
gree that  they  gave  him  almost  autocratic  powers  as  Presi- 
dent of  the  Hospital  Board. 

Mr.  Gwinn  was  of  a  different  cast.  He  was  not  lacking 
in  enthusiasm  nor  in  interest  respecting  the  problems  then  un- 
der discussion,  but  his  unusual  ability  as  a  lawyer  made  him 
cautious.  He  looked  at  both  sides  of  every  question,  and 
when  he  gave  an  opinion,  it  was  sure  to  be  based  on  careful 
consideration  of  the  pros  and  cons.  As  his  mind  was  exact, 
his  pen  was  ready,  and  he  was  constantly  called  upon  to  draft 
such  instruments  as  required  precision.  I  do  not  know,  but 

121 


122    THE  LAUNCHING   OF  A  UNIVERSITY 

I  suppose,  that  he  wrote  the  will  of  Johns  Hopkins,  and  that 
he  was  the  author  of  a  remarkable  letter  which  stands  as  a 
sort  of  Bill  of  Rights  among  the  fundamental  provisions  for 
the  two  foundations. 

The  site  for  the  hospital  was  chosen  by  the  founder.  It 
was  on  high  ground,  from  which  the  water  ran  off  in  every 
direction,  free  from  objectionable  neighbours,  producers  of 
smoke  and  noise,  and  (as  I  have  heard  Mr.  King  remark) 
not  far  from  the  manufacturing  district  of  Canton  where 
labouring  people  were  prone  to  accidents.  The  next  step 
was  to  determine  the  building  plans.  To  facilitate  a  decision, 
five  hospital  experts,  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  were 
invited  to  present  their  views  in  elaborate  reports.  They 
were  not  architects,  but  medical  men  who  had  been  con- 
cerned in  the  conduct  of  hospitals.  These  reports  were 
printed  (with  diagrams)  in  an  octavo  volume.  Afterwards, 
with  the  aid  of  architects,  the  general  plans  were  adopted, 
and  gradually  the  details  were  worked  out.  In  perfecting 
these  plans  and  in  directing  the  work  of  construction,  one  of 
the  authors,  Dr.  John  S.  Billings,  was  the  expert  adviser  of 
the  Trustees.  His  great  capacity  for  business,  his  acquaint- 
ance with  hospital  management  during  the  Civil  War,  and 
his  unwearying  industry  made  him  an  invaluable  counsellor; 
but  the  story  of  his  services  belongs  to  the  Hospital,  rather 
than  to  the  University,  and  so  I  pass  it  by. 

After  the  plans  were  adopted,  the  construction  of  the  hos- 
pital proceeded  slowly.  Mr.  King  could  not  be  hurried. 
Only  the  income  of  the  endowment  was  employed.  Year 
by  year  the  opening  of  the  wards  was  postponed.  Mean- 
while the  University  authorities  were  studying  the  problem 
of  medical  education,  for  it  was  fore-ordained  that  medicine 
and  the  allied  sciences  should  be  one  of  the  principal  cares 
of  the  University.  Professor  Huxley,  then  recognised  as  an 
able  advocate  of  the  study  of  nature,  was  invited  to  deliver  an 
opening  lecture,  which  was  chiefly  directed  to  medical  edu- 


JOHNS    HOPKINS    MEDICAL   SCHOOL      123 

cation.  Dr.  Martin's  courses  in  biology  were  so  arranged 
as  to  be  of  special  service  to  prospective  physicians.  A  pre- 
liminary medical  course  was  announced.  The  nucleus  of  a 
medical  Faculty  was  established.  Inquiries  were  made  as  to 
suitable  incumbents  for  the  professorial  chairs.  Medical 
schools,  at  home  and  abroad,  were  visited.  Everything  was 
hopeful.  Then  unexpected  disasters  occurred.  The  invest- 
ment which  the  founder  had  selected  for  the  University 
ceased  to  yield  its  usual  income,  and  then  ceased  to  yield  any 
income  whatever.  It  was  not  until  Miss  Mary  E.  Garrett 
came  forward,  several  years  later,  with  a  gift  of  nearly  half 
a  million  dollars,  supplementing  a  large  contribution  from 
friends  of  the  medical  education  of  women,  that  the  organisa- 
tion of  the  Medical  School  was  perfected. 

The  first  appointment  on  the  Medical  Faculty  was  Dr. 
William  H.  Welch.  The  medical  profession  generally 
recognised  at  that  time  the  importance  of  bacteriology,  and 
were  desirous  that  the  new  School  in  Baltimore  should  in- 
clude on  its  staff  one  who  was  eminent  in  the  modern  study 
of  pathology.  Inquiries  as  to  such  a  person  were  made  in 
this  country,  in  England,  and  on  the  Continent,  and,  after 
a  great  deal  of  scrutiny,  the  choice  fell  upon  the  gentleman 
just  named.  He  was  persuaded  to  leave  the  post  which  he 
then  filled  in  the  Bellevue  Medical  College  of  New  York, 
was  allowed  a  year's  leave  of  absence  to  further  fit  himself 
for  his  new  work  in  the  laboratories  of  Germany,  and  en- 
tered upon  his  duties  in  1885.  He  was  the  first  Dean  of  the 
Medical  School,  and,  in  all  the  developments  of  his  plans,  his 
learning,  his  good  sense,  and  his  enthusiasm  were  most  helpful. 

Looking  forward  to  the  future  organisation  of  the  Medi- 
cal School,  Dr.  William  Osier  was  appointed  Professor  of 
Medicine  and  Chief  Physician  to  the  Hospital ;  and  with  him 
were  associated  Dr.  Halsted,  in  surgery,  and  Dr.  Kelly,  in 
gynaecology.  When  the  time  came  to  offer  systematic  in- 
struction, these  gentlemen  formed  a  nucleus  of  the  Medical 


124    THE   LAUNCHING   OF  A   UNIVERSITY 

Faculty,  and  they  added  to  their  numbers  Dr.  Mall,  in 
anatomy,  Dr.  Howell,  in  physiology,  and  Dr.  Abel,  in  phar- 
macology, and,  afterwards,  many  special  associates  and  in- 
structors. 

At  the  beginning  it  was  decided  that  those  only  who  were 
already  graduates  in  Arts  or  who  had  an  equivalent  training 
should  be  received  as  candidates  for  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Medicine.  Most  of  the  medical  schools  in  the  country  re- 
ceived pupils  with  very  slight  examination,  and  even  the  fore- 
most required  nothing  like  the  conditions  of  a  baccalaureate 
degree.  But  it  was  not  considered  that  a  baccalaureate  de- 
gree would  be  by  itself  a  sufficient  evidence  of  preliminary 
knowledge.  It  was  therefore  required  that  all  such  candidates 
should  have  pursued  courses  of  instruction  that  included 
chemistry,  physics,  and  biology,  with  some  knowledge  of 
French  and  German.  By  these  conditions  it  was  intended  to 
bring  together  a  superior  class  of  persons  who  had  made  such 
progress  in  the  line  of  their  life  work  that  their  future  suc- 
cess might  be  considered  as  assured.  In  other  words,  the 
medical  instruction  was  to  be  based  upon  an  acquaintance 
with  the  laws  of  normal  and  healthy  life,  and  the  candidates 
were  to  have  sufficient  knowledge  of  French  and  German, 
at  least,  to  read  the  scientific  papers  constantly  appearing  in 
those  languages. 

The  Medical  School  sprang  at  once  into  a  position  of 
great  influence,  as  the  Philosophical  Department  had  already 
succeeded  in  its  early  days.  The  graduates  of  the  School, 
after  four  years'  training,  were  sought  for  in  every  part  of 
the  land,  and  are  now  to  be  found  as  instructors  at  Cam- 
bridge, on  the  Atlantic  coast,  and  at  San  Francisco,  on  the 
Pacific,  and  in  the  best  medical  schools  between  those  two  ex- 
tremes. In  the  Medical  School,  as  well  as  in  the  Philosophi- 
cal, the  publication  of  memoirs  was  encouraged.  The  Hos- 
pital Reports  now  number  eleven  volumes;  and  the  Jour- 
nal of  Experimental  Medicine  begun  here  in  1896  and  now 
published  in  New  York,  has  reached  its  seventh  volume. 


RESIGNATION 

A  Farewell   Address  after  Twenty-five  Years* 
Service 


RETIREMENT  AFTER  TWENTY-FIVE  YEARS'  SERVICE 

After  twenty-five  years'  service,  having  reached  the 
age  of  seventy  years,  I  requested  to  be  released  from  the 
office  of  President  of  the  Johns  Hopkins  University, 
which  I  had  held  since  1875.  My  colleague  during  all 
that  period,  Dr.  Ira  Remsen,  Professor  of  Chemistry, 
was  elected  to  the  vacant  chair,  and  was  formally  in- 
ducted into  his  office  on  the  22d  of  February,  1902. 
The  celebration  lasted  during  two  days,  and  has  been 
fully  recorded  in  the  volume  published  by  the  Uni- 
versity. 


IX 

RESIGNATION:   A  FAREWELL  ADDRESS,  FEBRUARY  22,  1902 

THIS  occasion  is  too  important,  the  audience  too  varied, 
the  visitors  too  many  and  too  distinguished,  to  warrant  the 
employment  of  the  time  allotted  to  me  in  personal  reminis- 
cences and  local  congratulations.  We  are  rather  bound  to 
consider  some  of  the  grave  problems  of  education  which 
have  engaged,  during  a  quarter  of  a  century,  the  study  of  able 
and  learned  men,  and  have  led  to  the  development,  in  this 
country,  of  the  idea  of  the  University.  This  period  has  seen 
marvellous  improvements  in  higher  education,  and  although, 
in  the  history  of  intellectual  development,  the  nineteenth 
century  may  not  be  as  significant  as  the  thirteenth,  when 
modern  universities  came  into  being  at  Bologna,  Paris,  and 
Oxford,  yet  we  have  lived  at  a  time  when  forces  have  been 
set  to  work  of  the  highest  significance.  Libraries,  seminaries 
and  laboratories  have  been  enlarged  and  established  in  every 
part  of  the  land. 

Let  us  go  back  to  the  year  1876,  that  year  of  jubilee,  when 
the  centennial  celebration  in  Philadelphia  brought  together, 
in  open  concord,  States  and  people  separated  by  dissension 
and  war.  Representatives  from  every  part  of  the  land  as- 
sembled in  the  City  of  Brotherly  Love  to  commemorate 
the  growth  of  a  century.  The  triumph  of  liberal  and  in- 
dustrial arts,  the  progress  of  architecture,  sculpture,  and  paint- 
ing, were  interpreted  by  the  music  of  our  Sidney  Lanier. 
The  year  was  certainly  propitious.  So  was  the  place. 
Maryland  was  a  central  State,  and  Baltimore  a  midway  sta- 
tion between  the  North  and  the  South.  The  people  had  been 
divided  by  the  war,  but  there  were  no  battle  fields  in  our 

127 


128    THE  LAUNCHING  OF  A  UNIVERSITY 

neighbourhood  to  keep  in  mind  the  strife  of  brethren.  The 
State  of  Maryland  had  been  devoted  to  the  idea  of  higher 
education  ever  since  an  enthusiast  in  the  earliest  colonial  days 
projected  the  establishment  of  a  university  on  an  island  in  the 
Susquehanna.  Liberal  charters  had  been  granted  to  colleges, 
of  which  St.  John's,  the  successor  of  the  first  free  school, 
must  have  honourable  mention,  a  college  likely  to  be  in- 
creasingly useful  during  the  twentieth  century.  The  Uni- 
versity of  Maryland,  with  scanty  resources,  encouraged  pro- 
fessional training  in  law,  medicine,  and  the  liberal  arts 
(nominally  also,  in  theology),  but  its  efforts  were  restricted 
by  the  lack  of  funds.  Nathan  R.  Smith,  David  Hoffman 
and  other  men  of  eminence  were  in  the  faculty.  The 
Catholic  Church  had  established  within  the  borders  of  the 
State  a  large  number  of  important  schools  of  learning.  One 
of  them,  St.  Mary's  College,  under  the  cultivated  fathers 
of  St.  Sulpice,  had  been  the  training  place  of  some  of  the 
original  promoters  of  the  Johns  Hopkins  University.  Yet 
there  was  nothing  within  the  region  between  Philadelphia 
and  Charlottesville,  between  the  Chesapeake  and  the  Ohio, 
which  embodied,  in  1876,  the  idea  of  a  true  university. 
Thus  it  appears  that  the  time,  the  place  and  the  circumstances, 
were  favourable  to  an  endowment  which  seemed  to  be  ex- 
traordinarily large,  for  the  munificence  of  Rockefeller,  Stan- 
ford and  Carnegie  could  not  be  foreseen. 

The  founder  made  no  effort  to  unfold  a  plan.  He  simply 
used  one  word, — University, — and  he  left  it  to  his  succes- 
sors to  declare  its  meaning  in  the  light  of  the  past,  in  the  hope 
of  the  future.  There  is  no  indication  that  he  was  interested 
in  one  branch  of  knowledge  more  than  in  another.  He  had 
no  educational  "  fad."  There  is  no  evidence  that  he  had 
read  the  writings  of  Cardinal  Newman  or  of  Mark  Patti- 
son,  and  none  that  the  great  parliamentary  reports  had 
come  under  his  eye.  He  was  a  large-minded  man,  who  knew 
that  the  success  of  the  foundation  would  depend  upon  the 


RESIGNATION  129 

wisdom  of  those  to  whom  its  development  was  entrusted; 
and  the  Trustees  were  large-minded  men  who  knew  that 
their  efforts  must  be  guided  by  the  learning,  the  experience, 
and  the  devotion  of  the  Faculty.  There  was  a  natural  de- 
sire, in  this  locality,  that  the  principal  positions  should  be 
filled  by  men  with  whom  the  community  was  acquainted, 
but  the  Trustees  were  not  governed  by  an  aspiration  so  pro- 
vincial. They  sought  the  best  men  that  could  be  found,  with- 
out regard  to  the  places  where  they  were  born,  or  the  colleges 
where  they  had  been  educated.  So,  on  Washington's  birth- 
day, in  1876,  after  words  of  benediction  from  the  President  of 
Harvard  University,  our  early  counsellor  and  our  constant 
friend,  the  plans  of  this  University  were  publicly  announced 
in  the  President's  inaugural  speech. 

As  I  cast  my  thoughts  backwards,  memories  of  the  good 
and  great  who  have  been  members  of  our  society  rise  vividly 
before  me — benefactors  who  have  aided  us  by  generous  gifts, 
in  emergencies  and  in  prosperity;  faithful  guardians  of  the 
trust;  illustrious  teachers;  and  brilliant  scholars  who  have 
proceeded  to  posts  of  usefulness  and  honour,  now  and  then  in 
Japan,  in  India,  in  Canada,  but  most  of  them  in  our  own 
land,  from  Harvard  to  the  Golden  Gate. 

I  must  not  linger,  but  lead  you  on  to  broader  themes.  May 
I  venture  to  assume  that  we  are  an  assembly  of  idealists. 
As  such  I  speak;  as  such  you  listen.  We  are  also  practical 
men.  As  such,  we  apply  ourselves  to  useful  purposes,  and 
to  our  actions  we  apply  the  test  of  common  sense.  Are 
our  aims  high  enough?  are  they  too  high?  are  our  methods 
justified  by  experience?  are  they  approved  by  the  judgment 
of  our  peers ;  can  we  see  any  results  from  the  labours  of  five 
and  twenty  years?  can  we  justify  a  vigorous  appeal  for  en- 
largement? These  and  kindred  questions  press  themselves 
for  consideration  on  this  memorial  day.  But  in  trying  to 
answer  them,  let  us  never  lose  sight  of  the  ideal, — let  us  care 
infinitely  more  for  the  future  than  we  do  for  the  past.  Let  us 


130    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

compare  our  work  with  what  is  done  elsewhere  and  with 
what  might  be  done  in  Baltimore.  In  place  of  pride  and 
satisfaction,  or  of  regret  that  our  plans  have  been  impeded,  let 
us  rejoice  that  the  prospects  are  so  encouraging,  that  the  op- 
portunities of  yesterday  will  be  surpassed  to-morrow. 

If  it  be  true  that  "  the  uses  of  adversity  "  are  sweet, — 
adversity  that  "  wears  yet  a  precious  jewel  in  his  head," — 
let  us  look  forward  to  leaving  our  restricted  site  for  a  per- 
manent home  where  our  academic  life  will  be  "  exempt  from 
public  haunt,"  where  we  shall  "  find  tongues  in  trees,  books 
in  the  running  brooks,  sermons  in  stones,  and  good  in  every- 
thing." In  faith  and  hope  and  gratitude,  I  have  a  vision 
of  Homewood,  where  one  person  and  another  will  build 
the  structures  of  which  we  stand  in  so  much  need, — where 
scholarship  will  have  its  quiet  retreat,  where  experimental 
science  will  be  removed  from  the  jar  of  the  city  street,  where 
health  and  vigour  will  be  promoted  by  athletic  sports  in  the 
groves  of  Academus.  The  promised  land  which  Moses  sees 
from  Pisgah,  our  Joshua  will  possess. 

At  the  close  of  the  Civil  War  came  the  opportunity  of 
Baltimore.  It  led  to  an  extraordinary  and  undesigned  fulfil- 
ment of  an  aspiration  of  George  Washington.  As  his  exact 
language  is  not  often  quoted,  I  venture  to  give  it  here.  In 
his  last  will  and  testament,  after  expressing  his  ardent  de- 
sire that  local  attachments  and  State  prejudices  should  dis- 
appear, he  uses  the  following  words : 

Looking  anxiously  forward  to  the  accomplishment  of  so  desir- 
able an  object  as  this  is  (in  my  estimation),  my  mind  has  not  been 
able  to  contemplate  any  plan  more  likely  to  effect  the  measure,  than 
the  establishment  of  a  University  in  the  central  part  of  the  United 
States,  to  which  the  youths  of  fortune  and  talents  from  all  parts 
thereof  may  be  sent  for  the  completion  of  their  education,  in  all  the 
branches  of  polite  literature,  in  arts  and  sciences,  in  acquiring  knowl- 
edge in  the  principles  of  politics  and  good  government,  and,  as  a 
matter  of  infinite  importance  in  my  judgment,  by  associating  with 
each  other,  and  forming  friendships  in  juvenile  years,  be  enabled  to 


RESIGNATION  131 

free  themselves  in  a  proper  degree  from  those  local  prejudices  and 
habitual  jealousies  which  have  just  been  mentioned,  and  which, 
when  carried  to  excess,  are  never-failing  sources  of  disquietude  to 
the  public  mind,  and  pregnant  of  mischievous  consequences  to  this 
country. 

You  will  please  to  notice  that  he  did  not  speak  of  a  university 
in  Washington,  but  of  a  university  "  in  the  central  part  of 
the  United  States."  What  is  now  the  central  part  of  the 
United  States?  Is  it  Chicago  or  is  it  Baltimore? 

Let  me  now  proceed  to  indicate  the  conditions  which  ex- 
isted in  this  country  when  our  work  was  projected.  You 
will  see  that  extraordinary  advances  have  been  made.  The 
munificent  endowments  of  Mr.  John  D.  Rockefeller  and  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Leland  Stanford,  the  splendid  generosity  of 
the  State  legislatures  in  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  Minnesota, 
California,  and  other  Western  States,  the  enlarged  resources 
of  Harvard,  Yale,  Columbia,  Princeton,  Pennsylvania  and 
other  well  established  universities,  and  now  the  unique  and 
unsurpassed  generosity  of  Mr.  Carnegie,  have  entirely 
changed  the  aspects  of  liberal  education  and  of  scientific 
investigation. 

As  religion,  the  relation  of  finite  man  to  the  Infinite,  is  the 
most  important  of  all  human  concerns,  I  begin  by  a  brief  ref- 
erence to  the  attitude  of  universities  toward  Faith  and 
Knowledge.  The  earliest  universities  of  Europe  were  either 
founded  by  the  church  or  by  the  state.  Whatever  their 
origin,  they  were  under  the  control,  to  a  large  extent,  of  ec- 
clesiastical authorities.  These  traditions  came  to  our  coun- 
try, and  the  original  colleges  were  founded  by  learned  and 
godly  men,  most  of  them,  if  not  all,  ministers  of  the  gospel. 
Later,  came  the  State  universities  and  later  still,  the  private 
foundations  like  that  in  which  we  are  concerned.  Gradually, 
among  the  Protestants,  laymen  have  come  to  hold  the  chief 
positions  of  authority  formerly  held  by  the  clergy.  The 
official  control,  however,  is  less  interesting  at  this  moment 


132    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

than  the  attitude  of  universities  toward  the  advancement  of 
knowledge.  To-day,  happily,  apprehensions  are  not  felt, 
to  any  great  extent,  respecting  the  advancement  of  science. 
It  is  more  and  more  clearly  seen  that  the  interpretation  of  the 
laws  by  which  the  universe  is  governed,  extending  from  the 
invisible  rays  of  the  celestial  world  to  the  most  minute  mani- 
festations of  organic  life,  reveal  one  plan,  one  purpose,  one 
supreme  sovereignty — far  transcending  the  highest  concep- 
tions to  which  the  human  mind  can  attain  respecting  this 
sovereign  and  infinite  Power.  Sectarian  supremacy  and 
theological  differences  have  dwindled  therefore  to  insignifi- 
cance, in  institutions  where  the  supreme  desire  is  to  under- 
stand the  world  in  which  we  are  placed,  and  to  develop  the 
ablest  intellects  of  each  generation,  subservient  to  the  primeval 
injunction  "replenish  the  earth  and  subdue  it;  and  have 
dominion  over  the  fish  of  the  sea,  and  over  the  fowl  of  the 
air,  and  over  every  living  thing  that  moveth  upon  the  earth.'* 
Notwithstanding  these  words,  the  new  biology,  that  is  the 
study  of  living  creatures,  encountered  peculiar  prejudices  and 
oppositions.  It  was  the  old  story  over  again.  Geology, 
early  in  the  century,  had  been  violently  attacked ;  astronomy, 
in  previous  centuries,  met  its  bitter  opponents;  higher  criti- 
cism is  now  dreaded.  Yet  quickly  and  patiently  the  investi- 
gator has  prosecuted  and  will  continue  his  search  for  the 
truth, — heedless  of  consequences,  assured  by  the  Master's 
words,  "  the  truth  shall  make  you  free." 

Still  the  work  goes  on.  Science  is  recognised  as  the  hand- 
maid of  religion.  Evolution  is  regarded  by  many  theologians 
as  confirming  the  strictest  doctrines  of  predestination.  The 
propositions  which  were  so  objectionable  thirty  years  ago  are 
now  received  with  as  little  alarm  as  the  propositions  of 
Euclid.  There  are  mathematicians  who  do  not  regard  the 
Euclidean  geometry  as  the  best  mode  of  presenting  certain 
mathematical  truths,  and  there  are  also  naturalists  who  will 
not  accept  the  doctrines  of  Darwin,  without  limitation  or 


RESIGNATION  133 

modification,  but  nobody  thinks  of  fighting  over  the  utter- 
ances of  either  of  these  philosophers.  In  fact,  I  think  it  one 
of  the  most  encouraging  signs  of  our  times  that  devout  men, 
devoted  to  scientific  study,  see  no  conflict  between  their  re- 
ligious faith  and  their  scientific  knowledge.  Is  it  not  true 
that  as  the  realm  of  Knowledge  extends,  the  reign  of  Faith, 
though  restricted,  remains?  Is  it  not  true  that  science  to- 
day is  as  far  from  demonstrating  certain  great  propositions, 
which  in  the  depths  of  our  souls  we  all  believe,  as  it  was  in 
the  days  of  the  Greek  philosophers?  This  university,  at 
the  outset,  assumed  the  position  of  a  fearless  and  determined 
investigator  of  nature.  It  carried  on  its  work  with  quiet, 
reverent,  and  unobtrusive  recognition  of  the  immanence  of 
divine  power, — of  the  Majesty,  Dominion,  and  Might,  known 
to  men  by  many  names,  revered  by  us  in  the  words  that  we 
learned  from  our  mothers'  lips,  Almighty  God,  the  Father 
Everlasting. 

Another  danger,  thirty  years  ago,  was  that  of  .conflict 
between  the  advocates  of  classical  and  scientific  study.  For 
many  centuries  Greek  and  Latin  were  supreme  in  the  faculty 
of  liberal  arts,  enforced  and  strengthened  by  metaphysics  and 
mathematics.  During  the  last  half  century,  physical  and 
natural  sciences  have  claimed  an  equal  rank.  The  promo- 
tion has  not  been  yielded  without  a  struggle,  but  it  is  pleasant 
to  remember  that  in  this  place  no  conflict  has  arisen.  ''Among 
us,  one  degree,  that  of  Bachelor  of  Arts,  is  given  alike  to  the 
students  of  the  Humanities  and  the  students  of  Nature,  and 
the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Philosophy  may  be  won  by  advanced 
work  in  the  most  remote  languages  of  the  past  or  in  the  most 
recent  developments  of  biology  and  physics.  Two  illus- 
trious teachers  were  the  oldest  members  of  the  original 
faculty; — one  of  them  universally  recognised  as  among  the 
foremost  geometricians  of  all  the  world, — the  other  renowned 
for  his  acquaintance  with  the  masters  of  thought  in  many 
tongues,  and  especially  for  his  appreciation  of  the  writers  of 


134    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

ancient  Greece,  upon  whose  example  all  modern  literature 
is  based. 

Our  fathers  spoke  of  "  church  and  state,"  and  we  but  re- 
peat their  ideas  when  we  say  that  universities  are  the  promo- 
ters of  pure  religion  and  wise  government.  This  university 
has  not  been  identified  with  political  partisanship, — though, 
its  members,  like  all  patriots,  have  held  and  expressed  their 
opinions  upon  current  questions,  local  and  national.  Never 
have  the  political  views  of  any  teacher  helped  or  hindered  his 
preferment;  nor  have  I  any  idea  what  would  be  the  result 
of  the  party  classification  of  our  staff.  This,  however,  may 
be  claimed.  The  study  of  politics,  in  the  sense  of  Freeman, 
"  History  is  past  politics,  and  politics  present  history,"  has 
been  diligently  promoted.  The  principles  of  Roman  law,  in- 
ternational arbitration,  jurisprudence,  economics  and  institu- 
tional history  have  here  been  set  forth  and  inculcated,  so 
that  in  every  part  of  the  land  we  can  point  to  our  graduates 
as  the  wise  interpreters  of  political  history,  the  strong  pro- 
moters of  democratic  institutions,  the  firm  believers  in  the 
merit  system  of  appointments,  and  in  local  self-government. 

A  phrase  which  has  lately  been  in  vogue  is  original  re- 
search. Like  all  other  new  terms,  it  is  often  misapplied, 
often  misunderstood.  It  may  be  the  highest  occupation  of  the 
human  mind.  It  may  be  the  most  insignificant.  A  few 
words  may  therefore  be  requisite  to  explain  our  acceptance  of 
this  word.  When  this  university  began,  it  was  a  common 
complaint,  still  uttered  in  many  places,  that  the  ablest  teachers 
were  absorbed  in  routine  and  were  forced  to  spend  their 
strength  in  the  discipline  of  tyros,  so  that  they  had  no  time 
for  carrying  forward  their  studies  or  for  adding  to  human 
knowledge.  Here  the  position  was  taken  at  the  outset  that 
the  chief  professors  should  have  ample  time  to  carry  on  the 
higher  work  for  which  they  have  shown  themselves  qualified, 
and  also  that  younger  men,  as  they  gave  evidence  of  uncom- 
mon qualities,  should  likewise  be  encouraged  to  devote  them- 


RESIGNATION  135 

selves  to  study.  Even  those  who  were  candidates  for  de- 
grees were  taught  what  was  meant  by  profitable  investigation. 
They  were  shown  how  to  discover  the  limits  of  the  known  ; 
how  to  extend,  even  by  minute  accretions,  the  realm  of  know- 
ledge; how  to  co-operate  with  other  men  in  the  prosecution 
of  inquiry;  and  how  to  record  in  exact  language,  and  on  the 
printed  page,  the  results  attained.  Investigation  has  thus 
been  among  us  the  duty  of  every  leading  professor,  and  he  has 
been  the  guide  and  inspirer  of  fellows  and  pupils,  whose  work 
may  not  bear  his  name,  but  whose  results  are  truly  products 
of  the  inspiration  and  guidance  which  he  has  freely  bestowed. 

The  complaint  was  often  heard,  in  the  early  seventies, 
that  no  provision  was  made  in  this  country  for  post-graduate 
work  except  in  the  three  professional  schools.  Accordingly, 
a  system  of  fellowships,  of  scholarships,  and  of  other  pro- 
visions for  advanced  study  was  established  here,  so  well 
adapted  to  the  wants  of  the  country  at  that  time  that  its  pro- 
visions have  been  widely  copied  in  other  places.  It  now 
seems  as  if  there  was  danger  of  rivalry  in  the  solicitation  of 
students,  which  is  certainly  unworthy,  and  there  is  danger 
also  that  too  many  men  will  receive  stipendiary  encourage- 
ment to  prepare  themselves  for  positions  they  can  never  at- 
tain. In  the  early  days  of  the  French  Academy  when  a 
seat  in  that  body  was  a  very  great  prize,  a  certain  young  man 
was  told  to  wait  until  he  was  older,  and  the  remark  was 
added  that  in  order  to  secure  good  speed  from  horses,  a 
basket  of  oats  should  always  be  tied  to  the  front  of  the  car- 
riage pole  as  a  constant  incitement.  It  would  indeed  be  a 
misfortune  if  a  system  of  fellowships  should  be  open  to  this 
objection.  Nevertheless,  whoever  scans  our  register  of  Fel- 
lows will  discover  that  many  of  the  ablest  men  in  the  coun- 
try, of  the  younger  generation,  have  here  received  encourage- 
ment and  aid. 

When  this  university  began,  the  opportunities  for  scien- 
tific publication  in  this  country  were  very  meagre.  The 


136    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

American  Journal  of  Science  was  the  chief  repository  for 
short  and  current  papers.  The  memoirs  of  a  few  learned 
societies  came  out  at  slow  intervals  and  could  not  be  freely 
opened  to  investigators.  This  university,  in  the  face  of  ob- 
vious objection,  determined  to  establish  certain  journals 
which  might  be  the  means  of  communication  between  the 
scholars  of  this  country  and  those  abroad.  Three  journals 
were  soon  commenced:  The  American  Journal  of  Mathe- 
matics; the  American  Journal  of  Philology;  the  American 
Chemical  Journal.  Remember  that  these  were  "  American  " 
journals,  in  fact  as  well  as  in  name,  open  to  all  the  scholars 
of  the  country.  Other  periodicals  came  afterward,  devoted 
to  History  and  Politics,  to  Biology,  to  Modern  Languages, 
to  Experimental  Medicine  and  to  Anatomy.  Moderate  ap- 
propriations were  made  to  foreign  journals  of  great  impor- 
tance which  lacked  support,  the  English  Journal  of  Physiol- 
ogy and  the  German  Journal  of  Assyriology.  Nor  were  the 
appropriations  of  the  Trustees  restricted  to  periodical  litera- 
ture. Generous  encouragement  was  given  to  the  publica- 
tion of  important  treatises,  like  the  researches  of  Dr.  Brooks 
upon  Salpa:  to  the  physiological  papers  of  Dr.  Martin;  to 
the  studies  in  logic  of  Mr.  Peirce  and  his  followers;  to  Pro- 
fessor Rowland's  magnificent  photographs  of  the  solar  spec- 
trum ;  to  the  printing  of  a  facsimile  of  the  earliest  Christian 
document  after  the  times  of  the  Apostles ;  and  recently,  with 
the  co-operation  of  the  University  of  Tubingen,  to  the 
exact  reproduction  by  Dr.  Bloomfield  of  a  unique  manu- 
script which  has  an  important  bearing  upon  comparative 
philology. 

I  am  not  without  apprehensions  that  our  example  to  the 
country  has  been  infelicitous,  not  less  than  thirty  institutions 
being  known  to  me  which  are  now  engaged  in  the  work  of 
publication.  The  consequence  is  that  it  is  almost  impossible 
for  scholars  to  find  out  and  make  use  of  many  important 
memoirs  which  are  thus  hidden  away.  One  of  the  problems 


RESIGNATION  137 

for  the  next  generation  to  solve  is  the  proper  mode  of  en- 
couraging the  publication  of  scientific  treatises. 

I  cannot  enumerate  the  works  of  scholarship  which  have 
been  published  without  the  aid  of  the  university  by  those 
connected  with  it, — studies  in  Greek  syntax,  in  mathematics, 
in  history,  in  chemistry,  in  biology,  in  medicine,  in  econom- 
ics, in  pathology  and  in  many  other  branches.  The  admin- 
istration now  closing  can  have  no  monument  more  enduring 
than  the  great  mass  of  contributions  to  knowledge,  which 
are  gathered  (like  the  cairn  of  boulders  and  pebbles  which 
commemorates  in  Cracow  the  burial  place  of  Kosciusko),  a 
bibliothecal  cairn,  in  the  office  of  the  Trustees,  to  remind 
every  officer  and  every  visitor  of  our  productivity  in  science 
and  letters. 

There  are  many  who  believe  that  the  noblest  work  in 
which  we  have  engaged  is  the  advancement  of  medical  edu- 
cation and  science.  Several  agencies  have  been  favourable. 
The  munificence  of  the  founder  established  a  hospital,  which 
was  recognised  as  soon  as  it  was  opened  as  the  foremost  of 
its  kind  in  Christendom.  He  directed  that  when  completed 
it  should  be  a  part  of  the  University  and,  accordingly,  when 
the  time  came  for  organising  a  medical  and  surgical  staff,  the 
principal  professors  were  simultaneously  appointed  to  the 
chairs  of  one  institution,  and  the  clinics  of  the  other.  They 
were  to  be  constantly  exercised  in  the  relief  of  suffering  and 
in  the  education  of  youth.  For  the  lack  of  the  requisite  funds, 
the  University  at  first  provided  only  for  instruction  in  those 
scientific  branches  which  underlie  the  science  of  medicine. 
At  length,  the  organisation  of  the  school  of  medicine  was 
made  possible  by  a  very  large  gift  of  money,  received  from  a 
lady  of  Baltimore,  who  was  familiar  with  the  requirements 
of  medical  science,  and  eager  to  see  that  they  were  met.  By 
her  munificence  the  University  was  enabled  to  organise  and 
maintain  that  great  department  which  now  reflects  so  much 
honour  upon  this  city,  and  which  does  so  much  by  example, 


138    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

by  publication,  by  systematic  instruction,  and  by  investiga- 
tion to  carry  forward  those  varied  sciences,  anatomy,  physi- 
ology, physiological  chemistry,  pharmacy,  pathology,  and  the 
various  branches  of  medicine  and  surgery.  In  accordance 
with  the  plans  of  the  University,  the  generous  donor  made 
it  a  condition  of  her  gift  that  candidates  for  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Medicine  should  be  those  only  who  had  taken  a 
baccalaureate  degree  based  upon  a  prolonged  study  of  science 
and  the  modern  languages.  A  four  years'  course  of  study 
was  also  prescribed  and  women  were  admitted  to  the  classes 
upon  the  same  terms  as  men.  The  liberal  and  antecedent 
aid  of  women  throughout  the  country  in  the  promotion  of 
these  plans  is  commemorated  by  a  building  inscribed  "  the 
Women's  Fund  Memorial  Building."  The  excellent  labo- 
ratory facilities,  the  clinical  opportunities,  the  organisation 
of  a  training  school  for  nurses,  and  especially  the  ability  of 
the  physicians  and  surgeons,  have  excited  abundant  emula- 
tion and  imitation  in  other  parts  of  the  country, — a  wonder- 
ful gain  to  humanity.  It  is  more  and  more  apparent  among 
us  that  a  medical  school  should  be  a  part  of  a  university  and 
closely  affiliated  with  a  hospital.  It  is  also  obvious  that  the 
right  kind  of  preliminary  training  should  be  antecedent  to 
medical  studies. 

I  must  ask  the  indulgence  of  our  friends  from  a  distance 
as  I  now  dwell,  for  a  moment,  on  the  efforts  which  have  been 
made  to  identify  the  Johns  Hopkins  University  with  the  wel- 
fare of  the  city  of  Baltimore  and  the  State  of  Maryland. 
Such  a  hospital  and  such  medical  advisers  as  I  have  referred 
to  are  not  the  only  benefits  of  our  foundation.  The  journals, 
which  carry  the  name  of  Baltimore  to  every  learned  society 
in  the  world  are  a  minor  but  serviceable  advantage.  The 
promotion  of  sanitary  reform  is  noteworthy,  the  study  of 
taxation  and  in  general  of  municipal  conditions,  the  purifica- 
tion of  the  local  supply  of  water,  the  advancement  of  public 
education  by  courses  of  instruction  offered  to  teachers,  dili- 


RESIGNATION  139 

gent  attention  to  the  duties  -of  charity  and  philanthropy, 
these  are  among  the  services  which  the  faculty  have  rendered 
to  the  city  of  their  homes.  Their  efforts  are  not  restricted 
to  the  city.  A  prolonged  scientific  study  of  the  oyster,  its 
life  history,  and  the  influences  which  help  or  hinder  its  pro- 
duction, is  a  valuable  contribution.  The  establishment  of  a 
meteorological  service  throughout  the  State  in  connection 
with  the  Weather  Bureau  of  the  United  States  is  also  impor- 
tant. Not  less  so  is  the  Geological  Survey  of  Maryland, 
organised  with  the  co-operation  of  the  United  States  Geo- 
logical Survey,  to  promote  a  knowledge  of  the  physical  re- 
sources of  the  State,  exact  maps,  the  improvement  of  high- 
ways, and  the  study  of  water  supplies,  of  conditions  favour- 
able to  agriculture,  and  of  deposits  of  mineral  wealth  within 
this  region.  To  the  efficiency  of  these  agencies  it  is  no  doubt 
due  that  the  State  of  Maryland  has  twice  contributed  to  the 
general  fund  of  the  university. 

Nor  have  our  studies  been  merely  local.  The  biological 
laboratory,  the  first  establishment  of  its  kind  in  this  country, 
has  carried  forward  for  many  years  the  study  of  marine  life 
at  various  points  on  the  Atlantic  and  has  published  many 
important  memoirs,  while  it  has  trained  many  able  investi- 
gators now  at  work  in  every  part  of  the  land.  Experimental 
psychology  was  here  introduced.  Bacteriology  early  found 
a  home  among  us.  The  contributions  to  chemistry  have  been 
numerous  and  important.  Here  was  the  cradle  of  saccha- 
rine, that  wisely  diffused  and  invaluable  concentration  of 
sweetness,  whose  manufacturers  unfortunately  do  not  ac- 
knowledge the  source  to  which  it  is  due.  In  the  physical 
laboratory,  light  has  been  thrown  upon  three  fundamental 
subjects:  the  mechanical  equivalent  of  heat,  the  exact  value 
of  the  standard  ohm,  and  the  elucidation  of  the  nature  of  the 
solar  spectrum.  For  many  years  this  place  was  the  chief 
seat  in  this  country  for  pure  and  advanced  mathematics.  The 
study  of  languages  and  literature,  Oriental,  classical,  and 


140    THE   LAUNCHING   OF  A   UNIVERSITY 

modern,  has  been  assiduously  promoted.  Where  has  the 
Bible  received  more  attention  than  is  given  to  it  in  our 
Semitic  department?  where  the  study  of  ancient  civilisation 
in  Mesopotamia,  Egypt,  and  Palestine?  where  did  the  Ro- 
mance languages,  in  their  philological  aspect,  first  receive 
attention  ?  To  American  and  institutional  history  persistent 
study  has  been  given.  Of  noteworthy  significance  also  are 
the  theses  required  of  those  who  are  admitted  to  the  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Philosophy,  which  must  be  printed  before  the 
candidate  is  entitled  to  all  the  honours  of  the  degree. 

I  might  enlarge  this  category,  but  I  will  refrain.  The  time 
allotted  to  me  is  gone.  Yet  I  cannot  sit  down  without 
bringing  to  your  minds  the  memories  of  those  who  have  been 
with  us  and  have  gone  out  from  us  to  be  seen  no  more: 
Sylvester,  that  profound  thinker  devoted  to  abstractions,  the 
illustrious  geometer,  whose  seven  prolific  years  were  spent 
among  us  and  who  gave  an  impulse  to  mathematical  re- 
searches in  every  part  of  this  country;  Morris,  the  Oxford 
graduate,  the  well-trained  classicist,  devout,  learned,  enthu- 
siastic, and  helpful,  most  of  all  in  the  education  of  the 
young;  accomplished  Martin,  who  brought  to  this  country 
new  methods  of  physiological  inquiry,  led  the  way  in  the 
elucidation  of  many  problems  of  profound  importance,  and 
trained  up  those  who  have  carried  his  methods  to  every  part 
of  the  land;  Adams,  suggestive,  industrious,  inspiring,  ver- 
satile, beneficent,  who  promoted,  as  none  had  done  before, 
systematic  studies  of  the  civil,  ecclesiastical,  and  educational 
resources  of  this  country;  and  Rowland,  cut  down  like 
Adams  in  his  prime,  honoured  in  every  land,  peer  of  the 
greatest  physicists  of  our  day,  never  to  be  forgotten  in  the 
history  of  physical  science.  I  remind  you  also  of  the  early 
student  of  mathematics,  Thomas  Craig,  and  of  George 
Huntington  Williams,  the  geologist,  whose  memory  is  cher- 
ished with  admiration  and  love.  Nor  do  I  forget  those  who 
have  here  been  trained  to  become  leaders  in  their  various 


RESIGNATION  141 

departments  throughout  the  country.  One  must  be  named, 
who  has  gone  from  their  number,  Keeler,  the  gifted  astron- 
omer, who  died  as  the  chief  of  the  Lick  Observatory  in  Cali- 
fornia, whose  contributions  to  astronomical  science  place 
him  among  the  foremost  investigators  of  our  day;  and  an- 
other, the  martyr  Lazear,  who,  in  order  that  the  pestilence 
of  yellow  fever  might  be  subdued,  gave  up  his  life  for 
humanity. 

Like  clouds  that  rake  the  mountain  summit, 
Or  waves  that  own  no  curbing  hand, 

How  fast  has  brother  followed  brother 
From  sunshine  to  the  sunless  land. 

It  is  sad  to  recall  these  interrupted  careers.  It  is  delightful 
to  remember  the  elevated  character  of  those  I  have  named, 
and  delightful  to  think  of  hundreds  who  have  been  with  us, 
carriers  to  distant  parts  of  our  country  and  to  other  lands  of 
the  seeds  which  they  gathered  in  our  gardens  of  science.  It 
is  delightful  to  live  in  this  age  of  bounty;  it  is  delightful  to 
know  that  the  citizens  of  Baltimore  who  in  former  years 
have  supplemented  the  gifts  of  the  founder  by  more  than  a 
million  of  dollars  have  come  forward  to  support  a  new  ad- 
ministration with  the  gift  of  a  site  of  unsurpassed  beauty 
and  fitness.  A  new  day  dawns.  "  It  is  always  Morning 
somewhere  in  the  world." 


REMEMBRANCE; 
Looking  Backwards  Over  Fifty  Years 


LOOKING  BACKWARDS  OVER  FIFTY  YEARS 

At  the  Semi-Centennial  of  the  University  of  Wis- 
consin, celebrated  in  Madison  in  October,  1904,  I  was 
requested  to  make  a  general  review  of  the  progress  of 
University  Education  during  the  period  covered  by  the 
history  of  that  admirable  institution,  the  Child  of 
the  State.  Here  is  the  substance  of  what  was  said  at 
that  time. 


UNIVE.\i? 
llUFOI 


REMEMBRANCES — LOOKING    BACKWARDS    OVER 
FIFTY    YEARS 

THE  story  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin,  as  it  has  been  re- 
corded during  this  celebration,  is  an  impressive  illustration 
of  the  progress  of  American  society  during  half  a  century. 
It  has  brought  to  mind  a  long  list  of  presidents,  from  John 
H.  Lathrop  and  Henry  Barnard  to  Charles  Kendall  Adams 
and  C.  R.  Van  Hise  and  another  now  present,  Dr.  Chamber- 
lin,  men  who  have  had  the  sagacity  to  perceive  the  needs 
of  this  nascent  state,  and  the  skill  to  secure  for  it  the  intel- 
lectual and  financial  resources  requisite  for  the  foundation  of 
a  strong  university.  It  has  also  called  to  our  grateful  re- 
membrance other  citizens  of  this  State, — legislators,  states- 
men, speakers,  writers,  givers, — who  have  supported  the  uni- 
versity in  its  hours  of  trial  and  perplexity,  and  have 
contributed  to  its  growth  and  prosperity.  The  task  of  the 
pioneers  has  not  been  easy.  No  doubt  each  of  them  could 
say  as  Sven  Hedin  said  after  a  journey  of  six  thousand  miles 
through  the  dry  interior  of  a  continent :  "  Travel  in  Asia  is 
not  a  dance  on  the  dropping  petals  of  the  rose."  To  found 
and  develop  a  university  in  a  State  just  emerging  from  the 
wilderness  may  seem  to  the  young  who  look  back  upon  the 
record,  a  romantic  and  chivalric  enterprise,  like  the  search 
for  the  Holy  Grail ;  but  to  those  who  took  part  in  the  work, 
there  were  hours  of  weariness,  discouragement,  and  peril. 
The  greater  the  task,  the  greater  the  victory,  and  the  heartier 
the  congratulations  which  this  concourse  of  scholars  be- 
stows upon  the  University  of  Wisconsin  at  the  close  of  its 
first  half  century.  I  bring  you  officially  the  cordial  greet- 
ings of  the  American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Sci- 

145 


i46    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

ence  and  of  your  youngest  ally,  the  Carnegie  Institution  of 
Washington. 

The  brief  period  allotted  me  for  this  discourse  is  mort- 
gaged to  the  past.  I  am  expected  to  "look  backward." 
Doubtless  the  honour  of  presenting  such  a  theme  is  due  to 
the  fact  that  I  am  a  veteran  of  fifty  years'  standing,  who  has 
taken  part  in  many  an  academic  discussion  and  witnessed 
many  a  contest;  who  has  seen  a  school  of  science  grafted 
upon  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  conservative  of  classical 
colleges;  who  has  helped  to  rescue  a  State  university  from 
the  limitations  of  a  college  of  agriculture  and  enlarge  it  to 
meet  the  requirements  of  a  magnificent  commonwealth ;  who 
has  watched  over  the  infancy  of  an  institution  planned  to 
provide  advanced  opportunities  for  American  youth  akin  to 
those  which  are  offered  in  the  best  of 'foreign  universities; 
and,  finally,  who  has  seen  a  munificent  fund  set  apart  for 
the  encouragement  of  investigation  and  the  pursuit  of  knowl- 
edge without  the  restrictions  of  a  school  or  college.  Pardon 
these  personal  allusions,  which  are  made  to  justify  the  course 
of  these  remarks.  The  concrete  experiences  upon  which 
they  are  based  may  be  designated,  in  the  parlance  of  the  day, 
as  "  original  researches  "  in  the  field  of  American  education. 
They  involve  observation  and  experiment. 

In  order  that  complete  justice  may  be  done  to  the  Univer- 
sity of  Wisconsin,  we  must  look  beyond  the  boundaries  of 
the  State  and  note  the  progress  made  elsewhere.  As  I  view 
the  last  half  century,  it  is  not  the  introduction  of  epoch- 
making  inventions  which  impresses  me  most  deeply;  it  is  not 
the  marvellous  products  of  the  earth, — in  oil,  in  metals,  and 
in  crops;  it  is  not  the  rediscovery  of  dead  cities, — Thebes, 
Babylon,  and  Troy, — nor  the  opening  of  China  and  Japan; 
it  is  not  the  catalogue  of  great  men,  statesmen,  soldiers, 
explorers,  poets,  musicians,  investigators, — the  intellectual 
forces  of  the  nineteenth  century;  it  is  not  great  political 
changes  like  the  emancipation  of  slaves  and  serfs,  the  unifi- 


REMEMBRANCES  147 

cation  of  nations,  and  the  extension  of  imperial  sway  coin- 
cident with  the  progress  of  democratic  rule;  it  is  not  the 
growth  of  great  cities ;  it  is  not  even  the  establishment  of  The 
Hague  tribunal  and  the  development  of  the  principle  of  arbi- 
tration. All  this  has  occurred  since  the  foundation  of  this 
university,  and  it  is  wonderful  indeed.  But  there  are  other 
changes  more  impressive  than  those  enumerated;  more  im- 
pressive because  more  fundamental  and  consequently  less 
obvious;  more  pervasive,  more  suggestive,  more  enduring. 

Few  persons  will  deny  the  assertion  that  the  most  remark- 
able changes  in  the  last  half  century  are  due  to  the  growth  of 
science  and  the  spread  of  the  scientific  spirit. 

I  make  the  distinction  purposely,  because  knowledge  might 
be  increased  in  the  cave  or  cloister,  by  hermit  or  monk,  by 
the  hidden  efforts  of  some  genius  like  Newton  or  Leibnitz 
or  Darwin  or  Helmholtz ;  while  in  the  same  period  the  love  of 
science  might  be  smothered,  as  it  was  in  the  Dark  Ages,  by 
arbitrary  restrictions  of  church  or  state,  or  it  might  be 
blighted  in  the  bud  because  of  popular  ignorance.  Science 
might  grow  under  any  circumstances,  but  the  spirit  of  science 
will  only  spread  among  free  and  enlightened  people.  Its 
advance  during  recent  decades  is  too  familiar  a  theme  for 
amplification  at  this  time,  especially  as  at  the  close  of  the 
nineteenth  century  the  press  teemed  with  reviews  of  its 
progress.  Text-books,  compendiums,  encyclopaedias,  place 
the  results  within  the  reach  of  everyone.  All  can  learn,  if 
they  will,  what  man  has  found  out. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  scientific  spirit  cannot  thus  be 
measured  nor  stated  in  compilations.  It  is  perpetually  active. 
It  is  the  search  for  truth, — questioning,  doubting,  verifying, 
sifting,  testing,  proving,  that  which  has  been  handed  down; 
observing,  weighing,  measuring,  comparing  the  phenomena 
of  nature,  open  and  recondite.  In  such  researches,  a  degree 
of  accuracy  is  nowadays  reached  which  was  impossible  before 
the  lens,  thp  balance,  and  the  metre,  those  marvellous  in- 


148    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

struments  of  precision,  had  attained  their  modern  perfection. 
Wherever  we  look,  we  may  find  indications  of  the  scientific 
spirit.  The  search  after  origins  and  the  grounds  of  belief, 
the  love  of  natural  history,  the  establishment  of  laborato- 
ries, the  perfection  of  scientific  apparatus,  the  formation  of 
scientific  associations,  and  the  employment  of  scientific 
methods  in  history,  politics,  economics,  philology,  psychology, 
are  examples  of  the  trend  of  intellectual  activity.  The 
readiness  of  the  general  government  and  of  many  State  legis- 
latures to  encourage  surveys  and  bureaus,  the  establishment 
of  museums  of  natural  history,  and  the  support  of  explora- 
tions illustrate  this  tendency.  Even  theology  feels  the  in- 
fluence. The  ancient  and  sacred  proverb  has  been  redis- 
covered,— the  letter  killeth  and  the  spirit  maketh  alive.  I 
will  go  only  to  the  edge  of  this  disputed  territory  and  shelter 
my  own  opinions  behind  those  of  a  learned  and  devout  pre- 
late of  the  English  Church  (Bishop  Westcott),  whose  words 
are  these :  "  No  one  can  believe  more  firmly  than  I  do  that 
we  are  living  in  a  time  of  revelation,  and  that  the  teachings 
of  physical  science  are  to  be  for  us  what  Greek  literature  was 
in  the  twelfth  century."  Contrast  this  assertion  with  that 
of  Andover  when  a  famous  scholar  insisted  that  the  heavens 
and  earth  were  made  in  six  days  of  twenty-four  hours;  and 
when  the  college  pulpit  in  New  Haven  advocated  the  same 
doctrine, — and  this  within  the  remembrance  of  your  speaker. 
Fifty  years  ago,  the  word  science  in  a  discourse  like  this 
would  be  restricted  to  physical  and  natural  science.  Mathe- 
matics would  perhaps  be  admitted  into  the  sacred  circle.  It 
was  not  uncommon  to  hear  that  "  a  professor  of  science  "  was 
wanted,  by  which  it  was  meant  that  someone  was  wanted 
who  could  teach  natural  history,  chemistry,  geology,  and 
physics.  Now  the  word  science  is  properly,  I  wish  we  could 
say  generally,  used  as  equivalent  to  exact  knowledge,  classi- 
fied, compared,  recorded,  and  made  public.  Consequently 
we  hear  of  the  sciences  of  language,  archaeology,  history, 


REMEMBRANCES  149 

economics,  politics,  music,  as  well  as  of  theology,  comparative 
religion,  ethics,  diplomacy,  administration,  and  of  manifold 
departments  of  medicine.  Men  used  to  speak  of  science  as 
if  it  were  caviare,  relished  only  by  exceptional  tastes.  A 
scientific  man  was  dry  as  dust.  He  was  laughed  at  and  per- 
haps despised  by  the  business  man  who  wondered  why  such 
devotion  was  not  directed  to  "  something  practical,"  some- 
thing useful.  Members  of  legislative  bodies  did  not  hesitate 
to  say  that  they  favoured  "  practical "  appropriations,  but 
that  the  government  could  do  nothing  for  science.  All  this 
has  changed.  Great  departments  in  Washington,  like  those 
of  agriculture,  geology,  natural  history,  geodesy,  astronomy, 
ethnology,  promote  abstract  as  well  as  applied  science.  Not 
a  few  of  the  separate  States  act  in  a  kindred  spirit.  The 
pulpit,  no  longer  speaking  of  science  in  derogatory  tones,  is 
almost  ready  to  say  that  science  is  the  handmaid  of  religion. 
The  most  widely  circulated  newspapers  and  other  periodicals 
have  scientific  articles.  Nature  books  are  a  new  branch  of 
bibliography.  All  this,  in  the  last  analysis,  indicates  a  desire 
on  the  part  of  all  thoughtful  men  among  the  public  at  large, 
to  ascertain  the  truth, — to  employ  such  agencies  as  will  elimi- 
nate error,  get  rid  of  misapprehensions  and  unfounded  tradi- 
tions, and  verify  assertions.  It  means  the  promotion  of  ac- 
curacy not  only  in  weighing  and  measuring,  but  likewise  in 
thinking,  in  speaking,  and  in  writing.  Emancipation  from 
the  slavery  of  superstition  and  unverified  traditions  follows 
as  a  matter  of  course.  I  have  held  in  my  hand  a  coin,  sup- 
posed to  be  silver,  which  was  once  circulated  in  China  and 
received  innumerable  stamps  upon  its  face,  as  endorsement 
of  its  value,  when  the  tokfen  passed  from  hand  to  hand.  At 
length  a  harder  blow  struck  through  the  face  and  revealed  the 
fact  that  the  coin  was  not  of  silver,  but  of  some  base  metal 
plated  to  look  like  silver.  In  like  manner  many  a  well  en- 
dorsed tenet  has  yielded  to  the  hammer  of  truth. 

Fifty  years  ago  (more  in  England  than  in  this  country), 


150    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

there  was  an  endeavour  to  provoke  a  discussion  between  the 
lovers  of  science  and  the  lovers  of  literature.  Technical  vo- 
cations were  spoken  of  with  contempt  as  "  bread  and  butter 
studies."  Inferior  degrees  were  conferred  upon  those  who 
pursued  a  modern  curriculum  in  place  of  "  the  regular 
course."  Not  only  has  the  spirit  of  accuracy  been  developed 
during  the  last  decades,  but  the  volume  of  established  science 
has  been  enormously  augmented.  Let  anyone  compare  the 
ascertained  knowledge  accumulated  in  any  field  with  that 
which  was  found  in  the  same  field  fifty  years  ago,  by  a  com- 
parison of  text-books,  treaties,  and  encyclopaedias,  and  he  will 
see  what  wealth  has  been  accumulated. 

With  the  growth  of  the  scientific  spirit  grows  the  love  of 
truth,  and  with  the  love  of  truth  in  the  abstract  comes  the 
love  of  accuracy  in  the  concrete.  If  any  man  of  science 
should  change  an  iota  of  what  he  believed  to  be  true,  if  he 
should  say  more  or  less  to  serve  a  purpose,  he  would  deserve  a 
place  in  the  penitentiary  of  science  and  he  probably  would 
find  it.  It  is  even  reasonable  to  expect  that  truth-telling  will 
become  as  universal  as  the  sway  of  science, — truth-telling 
even  in  letters  of  recommendation  for  official  appointment  and 
in  the  acknowledgment  of  books  received  by  favour  of  the 
publishers. 

Closely  connected  with  the  spread  of  the  scientific  spirit 
has  been  the  enunciation  and  the  acceptance  of  the  doctrine 
of  evolution.  Its  conception  was  remote.  Its  birth  was 
timidly  announced.  Its  childhood  was  almost  crushed  by 
unkind  treatment.  Its  adoption  was  slowly  secured.  At 
length,  as  an  interpreter  of  the  order  of  nature  and  of  the 
progress  of  mankind,  its  authority  is  acknowledged,  its 
triumph  complete,  and  the  prediction  is  boldly  made,  by  one 
of  the  foremost  exponents,  that  the  doctrine  will  probably 
take  its  place,  in  the  opinion  of  future  generations,  as  the 
crowning  achievement  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Whether 
this  be  so  or  not,  or  whether  some  other  principle, — the  con- 


REMEMBRANCES  151 

servation  of  force  for  example,  or  the  relation  of  electricity 
to  light,  or  radio-activity, — is  destined  to  such  pre-eminence, 
the  world  is  not  likely  to  forget  how  an  idea  dimly  perceived 
by  the  earliest  Greek  philosophers,  repeated  by  the  Roman 
poet,  dormant  during  the  long  period  of  the  middle  ages  and 
renaissance,  has  been  distinctly  formulated  and  carefully 
elaborated  by  the  generation  just  passing  from  the  stage. 
How  like  the  bloom  of  the  century  plant,  which,  long  kept 
back,  suddenly  bursts  forth  to  the  delight  of  every  eye!  It 
is  both  encouraging  and  discouraging  to  consider  the  slow 
processes  by  which  truths  are  clearly  formulated  and  gener- 
ally accepted.  With  our  human  chronology  let  us  contrast 
the  divine,  and  remember  that  to  the  all-seeing  Eye  a  thou- 
sand years  are  but  as  yesterday. 

The  study  of  evolution  coincides  with  the  introduction 
of  biology,  or  the  study  of  the  origin  and  morphology  of 
every  kind  of  living  organism.  Natural  history  assumed  a 
new  form  under  the  name  of  biology,  and  biology  has  been 
subdivided  so  that  even  the  word  itself  is  passing  into  dis- 
favour as  the  distinctive  epithet  of  a  single  science.  The 
richest  fruits  of  biological  study  are  to  be  seen  in  the  science 
of  medicine.  Indeed,  the  growth  of  medical  science,  pro- 
moted by  the  discovery  of  anaesthesia  and  antisepsis,  is  per- 
haps the  greatest  boon,  of  a  concrete  and  practical  nature, 
that  the  world  has  ever  received.  The  presidential  dis- 
course, to  which  we  listened  yesterday,  dwelt  so  forcibly  on 
this  theme,  that  I  forego  the  pleasure  of  rehearsing  the  victory 
which  science  has  won  over  pestilence  and  disease  within 
the  last  two  or  three  decades.  One  by  one  the  ravages  of 
cholera,  diphtheria,  yellow  fever,  and  the  plague  have  been 
checked.  Tuberculosis  begins  to  yield  its  direful  grasp  and 
the  spread  of  malarial  fever  is  controlled.  The  words  of 
Dr.  Osier,  a  great  authority,  are  these: 

"  The  study  of  physiology  and  pathology,  within  the  past 
half  century,  has  done  more  to  emancipate  medicine  from 


I52    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A  UNIVERSITY 

routine  and  the  thraldom  of  authority,  than  all  the  work  of 
all  the  physicians  from  Hippocrates  to  Jenner, — and  we  are 
yet  but  on  the  threshold." 

The  growth  of  American  universities  must  arrest  the 
attention  of  all  who  look  back  over  the  last  half  century. 
Throughout  the  civilised  world  the  changes  have  been  very- 
great,  due  especially  to  the  introduction  of  laboratory  methods 
in  chemistry  by  the  great  teacher  Liebig,  and  subsequently 
in  physics  and  biology  by  other  men  of  genius.  The  per- 
fection of  astronomical  instruments  and  of  the  microscope 
has  had  a  similar  influence.  Exact  surveys  of  the  natural 
resources  of  civilised  countries,  and  explorations  in  unciv- 
ilised lands,  have  opened  the  way  to  advances  in  geology 
and  natural  history.  In  the  middle  of  the  last  century 
Americans  perceived  the  scholarly  leadership  of  Germany 
and  sent  scores  of  her  brightest  minds  to  Gottingen, 
Leipsic,  Munich,  and  Berlin.  The  natural  sciences  attracted 
minds  of  a  different  order,  and  Gibbs,  Gould,  Rood,  and 
many  still  living  found  places  in  the  well-equipped  and 
well-manned  laboratories  of  the  Continent.  The  followers 
of  ^sculapius,  true  to  the  traditions  of  Epidaurus  and 
Salerno,  worshipped  in  the  shrines  of  Paris  and  Vienna. 
England  perceived  the  necessity  of  enlarging  and  supplement- 
ing her  ancient  universities, — sources  of  our  earliest  academic 
traditions, — and  the  parliamentary  commissions  on  university 
reorganisation  and  on  technical  instruction  prepared  the  way 
for  great  advances,  both  in  classical  studies  and  in  mod- 
ern science.  America  felt  these  influences  and  profited  by 
them. 

Within  the  period  that  we  are  considering  our  country- 
men have  come  to  recognise  the  true  significance  of  uni- 
versity work,  as  distinguished  from  collegiate  discipline,  and 
instruction  has  been  provided  in  many  departments  of  science 
and  letters,  quite  apart  from  the  courses  of  professional 
schools,  and  more  advanced  than  those  of  the  college.  There 


REMEMBRANCES  153 

are  fifteen  or  twenty  places  in  this  country  at  the  present 
time  where  ample  endowments  enable  the  authorities  to 
develop  laboratories  and  seminaries  for  the  guidance  of  grad- 
uate students.  Simultaneously  with  this  development  there 
has  been  in  many  places  a  complete  reorganisation  of  colleg- 
iate work.  While  its  disciplinary  character  is  maintained, 
very  many  subjects  of  study  are  allowed  in  the  college  cur- 
riculum, and  consequently  a  great  deal  of  freedom  of  choice 
is  permitted.  It  does  not  appear  that  the  undergraduates 
receive  better  instruction  than  they  received  in  the  earlier 
days;  it  does  not  appear  that  the  bachelors  of  to-day  are 
better  qualified  for  life  than  they  were  in  the  early  part  of 
the  last  century;  but  it  is  obvious  that  the  manifold  require- 
ments of  modern  society  have  been  advantageously  met  by 
courses  of  instruction  which  lead  up  to  the  modern  pursuits, 
as  the  old  classical  curriculum  led  naturally  to  the  study 
of  law  and  theology.  Two  gains  are  doubtless  permanent; 
first,  elective  courses  or  the  choice  between  "  groups  "  of 
undergraduate  studies;  and,  second,  the  rapidly  increasing 
recognition  of  the  value  of  "  liberal  education,"  as  antecedent 
to  higher  and  special  studies  and  as  a  generous  and  enviable 
preparation  for  the  duties  of  a  business  life.  Closely  con- 
nected with  the  growth  of  universities,  libraries  and  labora- 
tories, well  equipped  and  well  manned,  have  rapidly  been 
developed. 

In  the  college  fields  there  is  still  an  ample  place  for 
the  maintenance  of  religious  influence,  and  for  the  giving  of 
such  religious  instruction  as  accords  with  the  views  of  those 
who  support  the  establishments.  But  the  university  fields, 
with  one  noteworthy  exception,  are  free  from  ecclesiastical 
influences,  although  voluntary  attendance  upon  religious 
meetings  is  encouraged,  and,  through  the  Christian  associ- 
ations and  other  agencies,  religious  life  is  promoted. 

The  higher  education  of  any  country  depends  upon  the 
lower.  Consequently  it  is  a  matter  of  great  satisfaction  to 


154    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

observe  that  during  the  last  half  century  public  schools  have 
been  introduced  in  every  State  of  the  Union,  and  that  the 
education  of  the  people  in  primary  and  secondary  schools  is 
everywhere  provided  for.  The  great  problem  what  to  do 
for  the  negro  race  still  exercises  the  minds  of  wise  and 
thoughtful  people. 

Now  comes  this  cry  for  research.  It  is  not  a  felicitous 
term.  It  has  no  exact  equivalent  in  other  tongues.  It  would 
be  better  if  we  could  employ  the  more  cumbrous  phrase, 
advancement  and  diffusion  of  knowledge,  as  Smithson  said; 
or  of  learning,  as  Lord  Bacon  said.  But  no  serious  harm 
is  done  so  long  as  it  is  understood  that  we  are  not  re-search- 
ing,— that  is,  searching  again,  like  the  thrifty  housekeeper, 
for  a  pearl  that  has  been  lost, — but  are  endeavouring  to  add 
new  truths  to  the  stores  that  mankind  has  accumulated  dur- 
ing the  slow  process  of  historic  development.  Many  young 
scholars  are  misled  by  the  charm  of  a  word, — it  is  to  them 
like  "  Mesopotamia," — and  when  they  say  that  research  is 
to  be  their  vocation,  without  having  in  mind  any  inquiry  that 
they  wish  to  follow,  it  is  best  to  advise  them  to  search  the 
Scriptures  until  they  know  what  fields  are  well  tilled,  what 
harvests  already  garnered.  Nevertheless,  with  one  voice, 
the  intellectual  world  must  joyfully  acknowledge  that  the 
provision  of  munificent  funds  for  the  assistance  of  scientific 
inquiry,  by  many  wise  and  munificent  benefactors,  and  the 
willingness  of  universities  to  allow  large  freedom  for  invest- 
igation to  those  who  are  qualified,  are  among  the  finest 
fruits  of  American  culture.  Investigation  is  the  watchword 
of  the  twentieth  century,  cried  upon  the  towers  of  every 
university, — investigation  not  iconoclastic  and  destructive, 
leading  to  the  spread  of  agnosticism  and  intellectual  anarchy, 
but  constructive,  up-building,  invigorating,  cherishing  all 
that  man  has  learned  from  nature  and  from  his  own  ex- 
perience, while  removing  the  incrustations  imposed  by  ignor- 
ance and  bigotry.  Back  of  all  that  man  has  learned  are  the 


REMEMBRANCES  155 

fields  which  knowledge  has  not  penetrated,  and  as  to  which 
the  voice  of  humanity  can  only  utter  Credo. 

There  are  still  other  topics  upon  which  I  am  prepared  to 
comment,  but  the  time  does  not  permit.  I  will  simply 
mention  them.  The  provision  of  higher  educational  ad- 
vantages for  women  is  a  very  great  advance  in  modern 
civilisation.  The  contributions  they  are  making  to  historical, 
philosophical,  and  biological  sciences  exhibit  a  high  degree  of 
excellence.  The  establishment  of  scientific  periodicals,  con- 
taining the  original  contributions  of  American  investigators, 
indicates  the  inquisitiveness  and  the  fertility  of  our  scholars, 
— but  unfortunately  the  note  of  jealousy  and  rivalry  reveals 
the  fact  that  the  most  highly  educated  persons  in  this  country 
are  not  exempt  from  the  infirmities  of  human  nature.  In- 
creased attention  to  physical  culture  and  to  the  laws  of 
hygiene  has  rescued  students,  both  men  and  women,  from 
the  looks,  the  habits,  and  the  ailments  which  were  formerly 
regarded  as  characteristic  of  those  who  cultivated  their 
intellects.  Stooping  shoulders  and  sallow  faces  are  no 
longer  in  vogue.  Some  intelligent  observers  from  England 
have  lately  expressed  the  apprehension  that  we  are  developing 
a  feminine  species  of  man,  as  other  observers  have  suggested 
that  a  masculine  variety  of  women  will  be  the  fruit  of  co- 
education. The  answer  to  the  first  of  these  suggestions  is 
found  in  the  vigour  with  which  all  manly  sports  are  carried 
on,  and  in  the  endurance  and  bravery  shown  by  young 
Americans  when  circumstances  call  them  to  the  front.  The 
answer  to  the  other  apprehension  is  found  in  the  matrimonial 
statistics  which  are  published  from  time  to  time. 

Within  the  period  we  are  considering,  many  new  subjects 
have  been  brought  into  the  academic  schedules,  an  important 
example  being  the  modern  languages.  A  liberal  education 
is  not  now  complete  unless  it  includes  a  knowledge  of  French 
and  German.  Much  attention  is  given  to  Anglo-Saxon  and 
early  English;  but  it  is  not  evident  that  the  powers  of  ex- 


156    THE   LAUNCHING   OF  A   UNIVERSITY 

pression,  by  pen  and  voice,  are  as  well  developed  as  they  were 
in  the  days  of  "  composition,"  and  "  declamation,"  when 
debating  societies  like  those  of  Yale  College  "  Linonia  "  and 
the  "  Brothers  in  Unity,"  afforded  abundant  and  attractive 
opportunities  for  the  presentation  of  essays  and  the  delivery 
of  speeches.  We  are  in  danger  of  losing  the  elements  of 
repose,  the  quiet  pursuit  of  knowledge,  the  friendship  of 
books,  the  pleasures  of  conversation,  and  the  advantages  of 
solitude.  It  is  stimulating  to  a  company  of  students  to  have 
among  them  Kelvin,  Brunetiere,  Ehrlich,  Jebb,  and  others 
of  the  most  illustrious  scholars  of  our  times;  but  it  is  not 
well  to  drink  too  freely  of  intellectual  champagne.  The 
early  deaths  of  Walker,  Pepper,  Goode,  Rowland,  and 
Adams  should  be  a  warning  that  the  strenuous  life  may  be 
very  useful,  but  it  may  be  very  short.  A  few  days  ago  Mr. 
Bates  reminded  his  fellow  congressmen  that  the  mortality 
of  the  57th  Congress  was  greater  in  proportion  than  it  was 
in  the  Spanish  war.  We  seem  to  have  adopted  as  a  national 
motto,  says  the  speaker,  that  no  country  may  long  endure 
if  the  foundations  are  not  laid  deep  in  the  material  prosperity 
which  comes  from  thrift,  from  business  energy  and  enter- 
prise, and  unsparing  efforts.  Let  me  supplement  his  warning 
by  a  prayer  that  the  universities  of  our  country  may  be  the 
correctives  of  this  whirl.  Within  academic  walls,  may  their 
serene  Highnesses,  philosophy,  literature,  and  science,  reign 
forever  in  tranquillity,  and  to  their  lessons  may  the  weary  and 
busy  resort  for  refreshment  and  recreation. 

Half  a  century  ago,  in  a  ringing  discourse,  a  distinguished 
orator  looking  westward  raised  the  cry:  "Barbarism  the 
first  danger."  1  The  stream  of  immigration  was  beginning 
to  bring  to  the  Atlantic  shores  hosts  of  immigrants,  and  in  the 
mind  of  this  acute  observer,  this  involved  a  tendency  to 
social  decline.  "Already,"  in  his  opinion,  "a  very  large 

i  Rev.  Dr.  Horace  Bushnell  before  the  American  Home  Missionary 
Society. 


REMEMBRANCES  157 

portion  of  the  western  community  are  so  far  gone  in  igno- 
rance as  to  make  a  pride  of  it  and  even  to  decry  education 
as  an  over-genteel  accomplishment.  The  society  transplanted 
by  emigration  cannot  carry  its  roots  with  it.  Education  must 
for  a  long  time  be  imperfect  in  degree  and  partial  in  extent." 
"  There  is  no  literary  atmosphere  breathing  through  the 
forests  or  across  the  prairies.  The  colleges,  if  any  they  have, 
are  only  rudimentary  beginnings  and  the  youth  a  raw  com- 
pany of  woodsmen."  "  These  semi-barbarians,  the  immi- 
grants," he  says,  "  are  continually  multiplying  their  numbers. 
Ere  long  there  is  reason  to  fear  they  will  be  scouring,  in 
populous  bands,  over  the  vast  territories  of  Oregon  and 
California,  to  be  known  as  the  pasturing  tribes,  the  wild 
hunters  and  robber-clans  of  the  western  hemisphere,  Amer- 
ican Moabites,  Arabs,  and  Edomites." 

How  strange  this  sounds!  How  different  would  be  the 
note  of  this  orator  of  1847  if  he  were  able  to  speak  to  us 
in  1904!  Behold  this  great  valley,  from  the  Alleghenies  to 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  filled  with  prosperous  towns,  with 
public  schools  everywhere  established,  with  colleges  and  uni- 
versities taking  rank  with  the  best  in  the  country,  with 
churches  well  maintained  in  every  community,  and  with  civic 
order,  social  happiness,  mercantile  honesty,  and  general  thrift 
everywhere  prevalent.  Let  this  town  of  Madison,  with  its 
capitol,  its  university,  and  its  historical  society,  stand  out 
as  a  conspicuous  example  of  what  has  been  done  in  many 
places  for  the  promotion  of  education  and  religion,  the  bul- 
warks of  society. 

My  theme  was  "looking  backward."  My  speech  is  made. 
May  I  have  your  attention  for  a  moment  more, — for  looking 
around  and  looking  forward. 

I  look  around  and  behold  a  beautiful  site  which  nature 
has  adorned  with  all  the  charms  of  an  inland  landscape.  As 
we  drew  near  by  an  evening  train,  the  dome  of  the  capitol 
on  one  hill,  the  dome  of  the  university  on  the  other,  shining 


158    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

with  a  thousand  lights,  made  known  that  law  and  order 
on  the  one  eminence,  science  and  religion  on  the  other,  were 
the  guardians  of  the  State, — friends,  allies,  watchmen, 
heralds.  I  see  these  convenient  halls,  well  equipped  with 
the  apparatus  of  instruction  and  investigation, — chief  among 
them  the  library.  I  meet  the  men  who  are  the  interpreters 
of  nature  and  of  history.  I  know  their  distinction  and  their 
fame.  I  hear  of  the  alumni  excelling  in  all  the  walks  of 
life.  All  this,  I  remember,  is  the  achievement  of  fifty  years. 
I  look  forward,  and  my  sight  grows  dim.  I  dare  not 
prophesy.  But  as  I  recall  the  words  of  that  eloquent  inaug- 
ural of  yesterday,  I  share  the  hope,  the  confidence,  and  the 
optimism  of  your  distinguished  leader,  believing  that  this, 
the  university  of  the  State, — this,  the  university  of  the  people, 
— will  be  one  of  the  most  successful  leaders  of  science  and 
education  among  the  many  institutions  of  our  land.  Mr. 
President,  I  envy  you;  I  echo  your  words;  I  endorse  every 
sentence  that  I  recall;  I  share  your  aspirations.  I  believe 
in  your  strength  and  I  pray  that  beneath  the  guidance  of 
Providence,  the  State  of  Wisconsin, — its  administrators,  its 
legislators,  and  its  people, — may  continue  to  foster,  enlarge, 
and  enrich  their  great  institution,  so  that  its  benefits  may 
reach  every  one  of  the  inhabitants  and  its  fruits  be  dis- 
tributed in  every  portion  of  our  land,  for  the  healing  of  the 
nation. 


THE  RELATIONS  OF  YALE  TO 
SCIENCE  AND  LETTERS 


RELATIONS  OF  YALE  TO  SCIENCE  AND  LETTERS 

The  Bi-Centennial  Celebration  of  Yale  University 
took  place  in  the  week  of  October  22d,  1901.  During 
the  successive  assemblies  of  several  days,  addresses  were 
delivered  on  the  Relations  of  Yale  to  Theology,  Law, 
Medicine  and  Education.  The  subject  of  "The  Re- 
lations of  Yale  to  Science  and  Letters  "  was  assigned  to 
me. 


XI 

THE  RELATIONS  OF  YALE  TO  SCIENCE  AND  LETTERS 

IN  the  mediaeval  convents,  from  which  our  academic  usages 
are  derived,  there  were  annalists  who  noted  the  passing 
events.  Dry  and  meagre  are  such  records, — dry  and  meagre 
will  our  annals  seem  unless  we  see  in  them  the  working  of 
principles  and  methods  during  a  period  of  two  centuries. 
It  will  be  my  endeavour  to  set  forth  the  relations  of  Yale  to 
science  and  letters  in  such  a  way  that  with  historic  insight 
you  may  discover  the  tendency  and  the  influence  of  the  school 
in  which  we  have  been  trained,  and  may  thus  appreciate  its 
benefits  more  fully  than  ever  before.  I  shall  not  follow 
closely  the  order  of  chronology,  and  under  the  circumstances 
of  this  address,  I  must  omit  the  praise  of  many  among  the 
departed  and  among  the  living,  honoured  and  beloved.  Law, 
medicine,  and  theology  must  be  avoided ;  "it  is  so  nominated 
in  the  bond."  It  will  be  good  for  each  one  of  us  to  bear  in 
mind  the  seven  searching  questions  of  an  ancient  critic, — 

Quis,  Quid,   Ubi,  Quibus  auxilils,  Cur,  Quomodo,  Quando, 

and  to  remember  also  that  there  is  no  process  by  which  we 
can  draw  forth  in  forty  minutes  the  rich  vintages  stored  up 
in  a  period  of  forty  lustrums. 

The  Collegiate  School  of  Connecticut  began  well;  Yale 
College  improved  upon  the  Collegiate  School;  Yale  Univer- 
sity is  better  than  Yale  College.  The  process  has  been  that 
of  evolution,  not  of  revolution;  unfolding,  not  cataclysmic; 
growth,  and  not  manufacture ;  heredity  and  environment,  the 
controlling  factors.  What  we  are,  we  owe  to  our  ancestry 
and  our  opportunities.  Hence  the  relations  of  Yale  to  Letters 
and  Science  cannot  be  adequately  treated  without  looking 

161 


i6a    THE   LAUNCHING  OF  A   UNIVERSITY 

outside  the  walls,  as  well  as  inside, — by  considering  the 
wilderness  of  Quinnipiac ;  the  dependence  of  the  colony  upon 
the  mother  country;  the  dicephalous  State  of  Connecticut; 
the  prosperous  city  of  New  Haven  and  its  proximity  to  the 
great  metropolis ;  and  especially  by  considering  what  has  been 
going  on  in  the  macrocosm  of  literature  and  knowledge 
where  we  represent  a  microcosm.  Such  a  survey  I  shall  not 
attempt,  for  I  must  keep  close  bounds.  Yet  even  brevity 
must  not  suppress  the  fact, — that  among  the  original  colonists 
of  New  Haven,  the  real  progenitors  of  Yale  College,  were 
three  broad-minded  men  of  education, — John  Davenport,  a 
student  of  Oxford  and  a  minister  in  London;  Theophilus 
Eaton,  the  King's  ambassador  at  the  Court  of  Denmark;  and 
Edward  Hopkins,  a  merchant  of  enterprise  and  fortune,  an'd 
an  early  benefactor  of  American  learning.  Their  successors 
also,  the  men  of  1701,  James  Pierpont  at  the  front,  were 
worthy  exponents  of  the  ideas  they  had  inherited ;  they  were 
the  wisest,  broadest,  and  most  learned  men  of  this  region  in 
that  day.  Liberal  ideas  were  then  in  the  advance,  and  thank 
God,  are  not  yet  in  the  background. 

New  England  brought  from  Old  England  the  customs,  the 
studies,  the  graduates  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge,  not  those  of 
Scotland  or  France  or  Germany.  The  exotic  germs  were 
nurtured  by  Harvard  for  more  than  sixty  years  before  the 
times  were  ripe  for  a  second  college  in  this  region.  Harvard 
instructors,  laws,  courses,  phrases,  were  then  adopted  by  the 
Collegiate  School  of  Connecticut,  and  our  alma  mater  began 
her  life  as  a  child  of  the  new  Cambridge  and  a  grandchild  of 
the  old.  "  Harvard  has  nourished  Yale  eighty  years  kindly 
ordered  in  Providence,"  are  the  words  of  President  Stiles. 
Yale  has  never  ceased  to  be  grateful  for  this  noble  ancestry, 
nor  broken  the  chain  of  historic  continuity.  Yale  does  not 
forget  that  an  honourable  pedigree  is  its  priceless  possession, 
and  delights  to-day  to  honour  its  ancestry. 

The  seventeenth  century  was  not  the  most  brilliant  period 


RELATIONS   OF  YALE   TO   SCIENCE       163 

of  university  education  in  the  mother  country.  The  functions 
of  universities  had  been  usurped  by  colleges.  Their  scope 
was  restricted;  their  regulations  rigid  and  petty.  Science 
and  letters  were  subordinate  to  logic  and  grammar,  and  the 
maintenance  of  orthodoxy.  Nevertheless,  the  new  school 
made  the  best  of  it, — and  while  still  without  a  fixed  habita- 
tion or  a  name,  acquired  both  influence  and  reputation.  It 
began  with  books,  not  bricks;  with  teachers,  the  best  that 
could  be  had;  and  with  ideas  in  respect  to  intellectual  disci- 
pline which  soon  bore  fruit  in  the  service  of  church  and  state. 

The  division  between  our  first  and  second  centuries,  cor- 
responding with  the  eighteenth  and  nineteenth  centuries  of 
our  era,  is  not  simply  determined  by  the  calendar.  There 
are  two  periods  to  be  considered  as  well  as  two  centuries, 
each  deriving  its  characteristics  from  the  spirit  of  the  age. 
In  the  first  of  these,  our  fathers  went  through  the  good  old 
colony  times  of  dependence  upon  England;  the  Revolution; 
the  establishment  of  constitutional  government;  and  the  en- 
largement of  national  life  and  hope.  It  was  the  period  too 
when  a  free  church  was  to  be  established  in  a  free  state,  when 
Christianity  was  to  be  promoted  without  the  rule  of  hierarchy. 
The  business  of  a  college  was  to  train  two  sets  of  leaders, 
those  who  would  develop  and  administer  republican  govern- 
ment under  new  conditions,  and  those  who  would  be  ministers 
of  the  word  of  God  among  a  Christian  people  separated  from 
the  establishment.  For  scholastic  discipline  the  books  and 
methods  approved  in  the  mother  country  and  adopted  in 
Harvard  were  the  only  instruments.  Such  words  as  letters 
and  science  were  not  in  their  vocabulary.  Religion  and  law, 
or  as  they  said  the  church  and  state,  were  the  dominant  con- 
cerns of  patriot  and  sage. 

Days  of  privation,  anxiety,  dispute,  apprehension  and  ex- 
periment introduced  a  time  of  stability,  prosperity  and  union, 
— years  of  plenty  after  years  of  want, — and  the  second 
century  opened  with  courage  equal  to  opportunities.  It  is 


1 64    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

true  that  the  ideas  of  original  research,  of  experiment  and 
observation,  now  so  familiar,  were  hardly  perceptible,  but 
science  had  begun  its  triumphal  march,  and  the  humanities, 
in  a  broad  sense,  were  destined  to  engage  more  and  more  the 
attention  of  educated  men. 

In  the  first  decade,  our  record  of  "  the  noble  living  and  the 
noble  dead  "  includes  the  name  of  one  who  was  trained  by 
alma  mater  for  more  than  provincial  usefulness  and  fame,  Dr. 
Jared  Eliot,  who  like  the  sages  of  antiquity,  had  the  cure  of 
souls  and  the  care  of  bodies.  A  physician  as  well  as  a 
presbyter,  living  in  a  country  town,  preaching  constantly, 
traversing  a  wide  district  on  errands  of  mercy,  he  showed  the 
qualities  of  an  original  investigator.  He  could  ask  hard 
questions  and  proceed  to  search  for  their  answers;  he  would 
make  no  assertions  that  were  not  based  upon  observation  or 
experiment,  and  he  submitted  his  conclusions,  by  the  printing 
press,  to  the  scrutiny  of  the  world.  These  are  his  sayings: 
"  Entering  on  the  borders  of  terra  incognita  I  can  advance 
not  one  step  forward,  but  as  experience,  my  only  pole-star, 
shall  direct.  I  am  obliged  to  work  as  poor  men  live,  from 
hand  to  mouth,  and  as  light  springs  up  before  me,  as  I  ad- 
vance." Again :  "  As  all  theory  not  founded  upon  matter 
of  fact  and  that  is  not  the  result  of  experience,  is  vague  or 
uncertain,  therefore  it  is  with  great  diffidence  that  I  have 
offered  anything  in  way  of  theory  which  is  only  conjectural 
and  shall  always  take  it  as  a  favour  to  be  corrected  and  set 
right." 

It  is  not  too  mucK  to  claim  that  he  made  the  first  contri- 
bution, from  this  land  of  iron  and  gold,  to  the  science  of 
metallurgy  in  a  memoir  entitled,  "  The  art  of  making  very 
good  if  not  the  best  iron  from  black  sea  sand ;  "  and  he  was  a 
century  or  more  in  advance  of  his  times  in  the  promotion  of 
scientific  agriculture,  as  anyone  may  see  by  looking  up  the 
six  tracts,  which  he  published  in  quick  succession,  and  after- 
wards collected  in  a  volume,  on  "  Field  Husbandry  in  New 


RELATIONS   OF   YALE   TO   SCIENCE       165 

England."  His  science  did  not  drown  his  humour  and  he  has 
left  this  short  biography  of  his  laboratory  assistant,  who  was 
sceptical  about  results  and  needed  stimulant:  "  He  being  a 
sober  man  (says  Eliot),  who  could  use  strong  drink  with 
moderation  and  temperance,  I  promised  him  if  he  could  pro- 
duce a  bar  of  iron  from  the  sand,  I  would  send  him  a  bottle 
of  rum."  Such  in  colonial  days  was  the  spirit  that  promoted 
research. 

No  wonder  that  Benjamin  Franklin  found  Eliot  out  and 
wrote  him  affectionately,  "  I  remember  with  pleasure  the 
cheerful  hours  I  enjoyed  last  winter  in  your  company,  and  I 
would  with  all  my  heart  give  any  ten  of  the  thick  old  folios 
that  stand  on  the  shelves  before  me,  for  a  little  book  of  the 
stories  you  then  told  with  so  much  propriety  and  humour." 
Poor  Richard,  when  he  ranked  ten  folios  below  the  wit  and 
wisdom  of  his  friend  in  Guilford,  paid  a  compliment  to  the 
collegiate  school  of  Connecticut,  but  he  had  not  in  mind  the 
folios  with  which  the  college  was  founded. 

If  it  be  true  that  Eliot  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  Royal 
Society  of  London,  the  distinction  is  very  great,  for  only 
David  Humphreys,  among  Yalensians,  had  the  like  honour 
before  the  recent  triumvirate,  Dana,  Newton,  and  Gibbs. 

Of  Jonathan  Edwards,  the  philosopher  and  theologian,  I 
have  no  right  to  speak,  but  he  must  not  be  exiled  from  men 
of  letters,  especially  since  it  is  customary  in  recent  years  to 
call  him  by  the  name  of  one  of  the  most  illustrious  of  epic 
poets.  His  contemporaries  placed  no  limits  on  their  praise, 
and  even  wrote  on  his  tombstone  Secundus  nemini  mortalium, 
thus  transcending  the  well-known  Florentian  epitaph,  nulli 
aetatts  suae  comparand™. 

His  grandson,  with  pardonable  piety,  declares  that  he 

"in  one  little  life  the  Gospel  more 
Disclosed,  than  all  earth's  myriads  kenned  before," 

and  then,  alarmed  by  his  own  eulogy,  he  adds,  "  The  reader 


1 66    THE   LAUNCHING   OF  A  UNIVERSITY 

will  consider  this  proposition  as  poetically  strong,  but  not  as 
literally  accurate." 

Edwards  may  be  called  a  poet  suppressed.  His  writings 
are  often  noteworthy  for  the  graceful  language  in  which 
refined  thoughts  have  expression,  and  although  no  rhymes 
or  verses  of  his  are  extant,  some  passages  have  a  Miltonic 
ring.  The  most  orthodox  among  us  may  hazard  the  opinion 
that  his  visions  of  the  future  state  are  fitly  classified  as  works 
of  the  imagination. 

Many  years  ago  this  extraordinary  man  was  likened  by  Dr. 
Samuel  Osgood  of  New  York  to  Dante,  and  this  comparison 
has  been  recently  amplified  in  two  brilliant  addresses  by  Dr. 
Allen  and  Dr.  Gordon  in  the  commemoration  of  Edwards  at 
Northampton,  a  century  and  a  half  after  his  banishment.  A 
cooler  critic  has  called  him  a  great  glacial  boulder,  one  of 
the  two  huge  literary  boulders  deposited  in  New  England 
thought  by  the  receding  ice  of  the  eighteenth  century.  These 
striking  terms  may  excite  a  smile,  but  they  are  not  uttered 
carelessly,  nor  are  they  a  misfit.  The  logic  of  Edwards  is 
like  a  rock,  fixed  as  those  masses  of  stone  upon  yonder  hill 
where  the  regicides  took  refuge,  hard  to  move  and  not  easily 
broken  up.  Cotton  Mather  was  his  fellow  traveller  upon 
the  ice  fields  which  once  covered  New  JEngland,  leaving 
scratches  and  furrows  on  many  an  eminence. 

It  is  pleasanter  to  think  of  the  flaming  preacher  as  the 
Dante  of  New  England.  His  language  often  glows  with 
fire ;  his  words  burn ;  his  fancy  carries  him  to  the  borders  of 
the  Inferno  and  to  the  gates  of  Paradise.  Nor  is  this  all  we 
can  say.  Our  Dante  had  his  Beatrice,  and  the  words  in 
which  he  speaks  of  her  may  well  be  placed  in  a  parallel  with 
those  which  narrate  the  love  of  the  Italian  for  the  daughter  of 
Folco.  Hear  the  earliest  record  that  has  come  down  to  us 
of  Dante's  precocious  and  enduring  love.  "  She  was  perhaps 
eight  years  old,  very  comely  for  her  age  and  very  gentle  and 
pleasing  in  her  actions,  with  ways  and  words  more  serious 


RELATIONS   OF  YALE   TO   SCIENCE       167 

and  modest  than  her  youth  required;  and  beside  this,  with 
features  very  delicate  and  well  formed,  and  further  so  full 
of  beauty  and  of  sweet  winsomeness  that  she  was  declared 
by  many  to  be  like  an  angel."  "  Although  a  mere  boy,  Dante 
received  her  sweet  image  in  his  heart  with  such  appreciation 
that  from  that  day  forward  it  never  departed  thence  while 
he  lived." 

Four  centuries  after  Dante,  Jonathan  Edwards  made  this 
note  in  respect  to  the  New  England  maiden  of  fourteen  years, 
who  became  his  wife.  "  They  say  there  is  a  young  lady  in 
New  Haven  who  is  beloved  by  that  Great  Being  who  made 
and  rules  the  world,  and  that  there  are  certain  seasons  in 
which  the  Great  Being  comes  to  her  and  fills  her  mind  with 
exceeding  great  delight.  .  .  .  She  is  of  a  wonderful  sweet- 
ness, calmness  and  universal  benevolence,  especially  after  this 
Great  God  has  manifested  Himself  to  her  mind.  She  will 
sometimes  go  about  from  place  to  place,  singing  sweetly,  and 
seems  to  be  always  full  of  joy  and  pleasure,  and  no  one  knows 
for  what.  She  loves  to  be  alone,  walking  in  the  fields  and 
groves,  and  seems  to  have  some  One  invisible  always  con- 
versing with  her." 

Dante  and  Edwards  alike  in  love,  alike  in  their  spiritual 
fervour,  and  in  their  impressive  imagery,  were  alike  in  exile, 
both  were  driven  from  their  homes,  both  died  among  stran- 
gers, both  have  been  honoured  with  increasing  reverence  by 
the  descendants  of  those  who  rejected  them. 

In  his  youth  Edwards  showed  a  noteworthy  proclivity 
toward  the  study  of  nature.  An  article  is  extant  which 
he  wrote  at  the  age  of  twelve,  recording  his  observations 
upon  spiders  and  displaying  the  same  qualities  as  those  of 
Lubbock  and  Maeterlinck.  Moreover,  his  undergraduate 
notebook  gives  evidence  that  his  mind  was  alert  for  knowl- 
edge in  other  fields,  and  that  he  could  ask  searching  questions 
in  physics,  including  electricity,  meteorology,  physical  geog- 
raphy, and  vegetation.  One  who  was  familiar  with  these 


168    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

precocious  memoranda  remarks  that  if  they  were  written,  as 
supposed,  between  the  ages  of  fourteen  and  sixteen,  "  they 
indicate  an  intellectual  prodigy  which  has  no  parallel."  If 
he  had  been  taught  to  use  the  lens  and  the  metre  as  he 
used  the  lamp,  he  might  have  stood  among  the  great 
interpreters  of  nature, — the  precursor  of  Franklin,  Rum- 
ford  and  Rowland. 

He  was  nurtured  by  theological  dialectics,  and  he  excelled 
not  in  physics,  but  in  metaphysics,  so,  to-day,  instead  of 
honouring  him  as  a  leader  in  literature  or  science,  we  can 
only  acknowledge  with  filial  reverence  his  wonderful  influ- 
ence upon  the  opinions  and  characters  of  six  generations. 
The  laws  of  intellectual  inheritance  are  obscure,  and  the 
influences  he  has  handed  down  cannot  be  measured.  It  is, 
however,  noteworthy  that  three  of  his  descendants  occupied 
the  presidential  chair  of  Yale  for  nearly  sixty  years;  many 
others  have  been  among  our  teachers;  indeed  there  are  few 
years  in  our  second  century  in  which  the  Faculty  has  not 
included  one  or  more  of  his  posterity.  I  have  read  the 
printed  verses  of  seven  of  his  descendants, — no  small  part 
coloured  (may  I  be  pardoned  for  saying  so)  with  the  cerulean 
hue  of  religious  fervour. 

It  is  interesting  to  dwell  upon  the  names  of  Edwards  and 
Eliot  as  men  of  more  than  provincial  fame,  because  the 
number  of  Yalensians  who  can  be  regarded  as  contributors 
to  literature  and  science  prior  to  the  Revolution  is  small. 
The  historian,  Tyler,  has  taken  the  year  1765  as  the  close 
of  the  sterile  period,  when  colonial  isolation  was  ended  and 
American  literature  began  to  be  worthy  of  the  name.  Before 
that  time  neither  Harvard  nor  any  place  in  this  land  has 
much  to  speak  of;  yet  afterwards,  until  the  close  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  the  product  is  almost  as  scanty.  A  recent 
paper  enumerates  the  texts  by  which  the  youthful  minds 
were  disciplined.1  Although  the  manuals  and  the  methods 
1  By  Professor  Schwab. 


RELATIONS   OF  YALE   TO   SCIENCE      169 

were  not  inspiring,  they  encouraged  discrimination  and  that 
power  which  used  to  be  called  ratiocination,  "  generation  of 
judgments  from  others  actually  in  our  understanding."  You 
may  say  that  this  is  not  "  experimental  science  nor  literary 
culture,"  and  you  say  well.  The  ore,  indeed,  may  have  been 
extracted,  by  the  Eliot  process,  from  black  sand,  but  the 
Bessemer  process  had  not  been  invented  for  turning  iron  into 
steel.  Nevertheless,  we  have  the  assurance  of  a  recent  Massa- 
chusets  critic,2  that  the  highest  literary  activity  of  the  later 
eighteenth  century  had  its  origin  at  Yale  College. 

Our  elder  brethren  of  the  eighteenth  century,  with  whom 
most  of  us  have  no  more  acquaintance  than  we  get  from 
the  hortus  siccus  of  a  biographical  dictionary,  were  men  quite 
as  intellectual  as  men  of  our  day.  When  their  acquaintance 
is  cultivated  and  when  the  minute  incidents  of  their  lives 
and  their  quaint  characteristics  are  sought  out,  they  are  as 
interesting  as  our  contemporaries.  Let  us  cease  to  regard 
them  as  mummies.  The  story  of  Manasseh  Cutler  is  a 
succession  of  romantic  incidents.  Bishop  Berkeley's  transi- 
tory interest  in  the  college,  and  his  permanent  influence  upon 
it,  is  a  captivating  record.  Jeremiah  Dummer,  little  more 
than  a  name  to  most  of  us,  was  called  by  Charles  Chauncey 
one  of  the  three  greatest  New  Englanders.  The  story  of 
Liberty  Hall,  where  William  Livingston  lived  with  his 
charming  family  of  daughters,  might  be  commended  as  the 
basis  of  a  novel  to  the  author  of  "  Hugh  Wynne."  Rector 
Clap,  the  fighting  rector,  led  a  life  full  of  racy  incidents,  and 
certainly  we  have  no  more  picturesque  character  on  the  roll 
than  Dr.  Stiles,  now  re-introduced  by  Professor  Dexter  to 
the  society  of  which  he  was  once  a  distinguished  ornament, — 
that  extraordinary  polyhistor  to  whom  all  knowledge  was 
attractive,  all  tongues  appetising,  and  all  events  pregnant. 

As  we  recall  the  writers  of  influence  and  distinction  among 
our  brethren,  we  cannot  fail  to  observe  the  dominant  religious 
2  Professor  Barrett  Wendell. 


i;o    THE   LAUNCHING  OF  A  UNIVERSITY 

spirit  which  most  of  them  show,  and  it  may  be  well  at  the 
outset  to  remind  you  that  the  identity  of  theology  and  poetry 
is  not  peculiar  to  New  England.  The  earliest  biographer  of 
Dante  declared  that  "  theology  was  nothing  else  than  the 
poetry  of  God."  "  Not  only  is  poetry  theology,  but  theology 
is  poetry,"  says  Boccaccio,  and  then  he  adds  that  if  these 
words  of  his  merit  but  little  faith,  "  the  reader  may  rely  on 
Aristotle,  who  affirms  that  he  had  found  that  poets  were  the 
first  theologians."  Judged  by  this  standard,  we  might  find  a 
good  deal  of  poetry  in  our  Yalensian  products,  during  the 
eighteenth  century,  but  by  the  criteria  of  modern  scholarship, 
not  much  that  would  be  commended  by  Matthew  Arnold, 
not  much  that  our  own  anthologist  would  cull  for  pres- 
ervation. 

Before  the  middle  of  our  first  century  there  appeared  in 
New  York  a  volume  containing  seven  hundred  lines  of  verse 
entitled  "Philosophical  Solitude;  or  the  choice  of  a  rural 
life: — by  a  gentleman  educated  at  Yale  College."  This 
anonymity  did  not  long  conceal  the  authorship  of  William 
Livingston,  one  of  the  brightest  students  of  his  time,  dis- 
tinguished in  many  ways, — once  as  "  the  Presbyterian  law- 
yer," and  later  as  Governor  of  New  Jersey  and  a  member  of 
the  Constitutional  Convention.  His  brother,  also  a  Yalen- 
sian, was  a  signer  of  the  Declaration.  The  verses  show 
the  influence  of  Pope,  and  among  other  points  of  interest  in 
them,  are  allusions  to  the  writers  whom  this  young  graduate 
desired  as  his  intimate  friends  in  the  rural  life  he  intended 
to  lead. 

In  the  Revolutionary  War  two  of  our  brethren,  while 
acting  as  chaplains,  were  composers  of  patriotic  songs.  Many 
years  later  the  inspiration  of  the  muses  descended  upon  a 
number  of  recent  graduates,  who  became  known  as  "  the 
Hartford  wits," — "  four  bards  with  Scripture  names,"  John, 
Joel,  David  and  Lemuel,  any  one  of  whom  could  produce  an 
epic  as  surely,  if  not  as  quickly,  as  the  writer  of  to-day  would 


RELATIONS   OF  YALE   TO   SCIENCE      171 

compose  an  article  for  the  Yale  Review.  The  group  included 
John  Trumbull,  a  precocious  youth  fitted  for  college  at  the 
age  of  seven,  whose  burlesque  treatment  of  the  Revolutionary 
War,  called  "  McFingal,"  ran  through  thirty  unauthorised 
editions ;  the  versatile  Joel  Barlow,  author  of  "  Hasty  Pud- 
ding," who  worked  for  half  his  life,  we  are  told,  upon  the 
"  Columbiad,"  having  in  the  interval  of  his  engagements 
"  adapted  Watts'  Psalms  to  the  use  of  the  Connecticut 
churches  and  added  several  original  hymns  "  j  David  Hum- 
phreys, who  translated  a  French  tragedy,  entitled  the 
"  Widow  of  Malabar,"  and  composed  several  ambitious 
poems ;  and  finally,  Lemuel  Hopkins,  an  honourary  graduate. 
The  Harvard  historian  whom  I  have  already  quoted  has  said 
that  at  the  time  the  Hartford  wits  wrote,  no  Harvard  man 
had  produced  literature  half  as  good  as  theirs. 

Perhaps  one  may,  without  offence,  at  this  late  day,  refer  to 
the  ponderosity  of  this  early  poetry.  "  McFingal "  and 
"  Hasty  Pudding  "  and  the  "  Progress  of  Dulness  "  would 
hardly  be  found  amusing  in  these  days,  although  they  were 
mirthful.  "  Greenfield  Hill  "  is  hard  reading.  The  serious- 
ness of  such  subjects  as  the  "  Conquest  of  Canaan,"  the 
"  Vision  of  Columbus,"  the  "  Anarchiad,"  the  "  The  Last 
Judgment,  a  Vision,"  was  characteristic  of  the  times  and  was 
adequately  sustained  by  the  serious  treatment  to  which  these 
themes  were  subjected.  Indeed,  in  this  period,  lofty  ideals 
were  entertained,  and  long  and  elaborate  poems  were  so 
naturally  attempted  that  a  commencement  orator  (as  late  as 
1826)  delivered  a  discourse  on  "  some  of  the  considerations 
which  should  influence  an  epic  or  a  tragic  writer  in  the  choice 
of  an  era."  The  spirit  of  Hebrew  poetry  hovered  over  our 
elms,  more  constant  than  Calliope  or  Euterpe.  It  suggested 
dramas  which  have  died,  it  found  expression  in  hymns  which 
have  lived.  I  could  name  five  of  these.  Brethren,  answer 
the  question  of  Emerson, — 


172    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

"  Have  you  eyes  to  find  the  five 
Which   five   hundred   did   survive  ? " 

At  the  beginning  of  our  second  century,  we  come  upon  the 
name  of  John  Pierpont,  preacher,  patriot,  advocate  of  every 
cause  which  would  improve  his  fellow  men,  whose  verses  are 
at  the  front  of  two  recent  anthologies.  Bryant  just  missed 
enrolment  among  us.  He  took  a  dismissal  from  Williams 
in  order  to  enter  Yale,  but  he  did  not  fulfil  his  purpose. 
Fitz-Greene  Halleck,  a  native  of  this  county,  did  not  go  to 
any  college.  Not  long  after  Pierpont,  the  two  Hillhouses 
were  graduated.  The  elder  brother,  James  Abraham  Hill- 
house,  was  author  of  "  Percy's  Masque  "  and  three  other 
dramas,  the  last  of  which,  entitled  "  The  Judgment,  a  Vis- 
ion," was  intended  by  the  author  to  present  "  such  a  view  of 
the  last  grand  spectacle  as  seemed  most  susceptible  of  poetical 
embellishment."  He  was  a  gifted  writer  of  fine  taste  and  lofty 
ideals;  and  his  writings  were  most  highly  esteemed  by  the 
generation  to  which  he  belonged.  His  name  is  dear  to  us 
as  the  poet  of  Sachem's  Wood,  the  beautiful  park  at  the 
head  of  Hillhouse  Avenue, — the  park  and  the  avenue  alike 
commemorating  his  distinguished  father,  to  whom  the  city 
of  Elms  is  beyond  estimate  indebted.  For  East  Rock  and 
West  Rock  he  suggested  the  names  of  "  Sassacus "  and 
"  Regicide." 

Later  came  Brainard,  cut  down  in  his  youth,  and  brought 
to  life  at  the  call  of  Whittier;  and  William  Croswell,  son  of 
the  rector  of  Trinity  Church,  one  of  the  most  cultivated  of 
churchmen,  whose  poems,  ten  years  after  he  died,  were  edited 
by  Bishop  Coxe.  In  the  class  of  1820  were  two  men  whom 
we  honour  for  so  many  other  reasons  that  we  forget  their 
poetry, — Woolsey  and  Bacon.  As  the  first  quarter  of  the 
century  closed,  the  college  diploma  was  given  to  James  G. 
Percival,  that  unique,  eccentric,  impracticable  combination  of 
science  and  literature,  learned  to  superfluity,  versatile  to  in- 
constancy, loving  nature,  books,  words,  yet  disliking  men  as 


RELATIONS   OF   YALE   TO   SCIENCE       173 

he  met  them;  geographer,  geologist,  linguist,  lexicographer, 
poet,  with  much  of  the  distinction  and  a  fair  amount  of  the 
infelicity  which  characterises  genius.  His  metrical  studies 
are  remarkable  illustrations  of  the  laws  of  verse.  Next 
came  N.  P.  Willis,  graceful  in  prose  and  verse,  remembered 
by  some  for  his  Biblical  lyrics,  and  by  others  for  lines  in 
praise  of  New  Haven  elms;  and  soon,  Ray  Palmer,  whose 
sacred  song  has  been  translated  into  twenty  languages,  and 
sung  in  Arabic,  Tamil,  Tahitian,  Mahratta  and  Chinese,  as 
well  as  in  the  tongues  of  Christendom.  George  H.  Colton, 
one  of  a  family  that  has  cultivated  the  muses,  published  a 
poem  on  Tecumseh  soon  after  he  graduated  in  1 840.  Twenty 
years  later  came  Weeks  and  Sill, — Weeks,  who  died  before 
he  had  stretched  his  wings  for  the  flights  of  which  he  was 
capable;  and  Sill,  bright  and  beloved  Sill,  whose  verses,  col- 
lected since  his  death,  exhibit,  as  do  his  essays  and  letters,  an 
intellect  strong,  unconventional  and  suggestive.  These  are 
not  all  the  departed  whom  we  may  hold  in  honourable 
remembrance. 

It  is  no  part  of  my  plan  to  say  much  about  the  living,  but 
there  are  two  writers  entitled  to  special  mention, — Finch,  the 
author  of  stanzas  which  have  brightened  the  fame  of  Nathan 
Hale;  and  Stedman,  anthologist  and  historian  of  Victorian 
poetry,  the  poet  of  yesterday  and  to-morrow,  the  youth  who 
won  his  laurels  as  an  undergraduate  writer  in  the  Yale 
Literary  Magazine;  the  singer  who  wears  them  still  upon 
his  frosty  brow. 

The  comparison  has  been  made  between  the  graduates  of 
Harvard  and  of  Yale,  and  the  long  and  brilliant  list  of  histo- 
rians and  poets  of  Cambridge  has  been  contrasted  with  the 
shorter  and  less  famous  list  of  New  Haven.  Our  friends  in 
the  East  will  doubtless  attribute  something,  as  is  their  wont, 
to  the  proximity  of  Boston,  a  beacon  set  upon  the  hill,  a  port 
of  entry  for  the  culture  of  other  lands,  where  the  Athenaeum, 
still  foremost  among  the  society  libraries  of  the  United  States, 


174    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

was  an  inspiring  resort,  close  akin  to  the  London  Library, 
giving  to  men  of  letters  both  sustenance  and  stimulant.  It 
is,  however,  probable  that  the  difference  between  the  two  col- 
leges is  due  to  the  fact  that  in  Eastern  Massachusetts,  during 
the  last  century,  dogmatic  theology  has  been  neglected  and  the 
ablest  intellects  have  been  free  to  engage  in  literary  produc- 
tion. Perhaps  this  is  true.  I  do  not  know.  We  may  claim 
this,  however,  without  making  any  comparison,  that  Yalen- 
sians  from  the  beginning  were  brought  up  in  obedience  to 
"  Duty, stern  daughter  of  the  voice  of  God";  that  the  college 
was  founded  for  the  fitting  of  men  to  serve  the  church  and 
state,  and  that  the  graduates  of  Yale,  whether  famous  or  un- 
known, are  devoted  to  the  service  of  their  country  and  show 
that  they  have  been  trained  to  think,  to  reason,  to  write  and 
to  speak  with  freedom  and  with  force.  We  can  every  one  of 
us  recall  classmates  and  friends,  men  we  have  heard  and  men 
we  have  heard  of,  village  Hampdens  or  mute  inglorious 
Miltons; — and  we  can  also  recall  those  who  have  shown, 
at  the  bar  and  on  the  bench,  in  the  cabinet  and  in  diplomacy, 
those  qualities  which  under  other  conditions  would  have 
made  them  orators  and  authors.  The  point  I  make  is  this, 
that  the  Yale  training  has  tended  to  the  development  of 
strength  rather  than  of  grace.  "  I  thank  God,"  said  a 
famous  preacher  who  studied  in  both  places,  "  that  I  struck 
no  literary  roots  at  Yale  and  no  theological  roots  at  Har- 
vard." "  I  thank  God,  too,"  said  one  of  his  teachers  at  New 
Haven. 

It  is  certainly  true  that  hundreds  of  the  graduates  of  Yale 
have  been  accurate  and  forcible  writers,  who  have  known 
what  to  say  and  how  to  say  it ;  and  that  they  have  in  this  way 
rendered  an  incalculable  service  to  the  country,  far  and  wide, 
even  though  we  admit  that,  under  the  pressure  of  strenuous 
life,  but  few  of  them  have  shown  those  literary  qualities 
which  are  usually  evoked  where  writers  and  critics  come  in 
close  relation  to  one  another,  as  they  do  in  cities  and  in  large 


RELATIONS   OF  YALE   TO   SCIENCE      175 

universities.  Long  ago,  Bishop  Fraser  said  of  the  United 
States,  that  the  people  were  the  most  generally  educated,  if 
not  the  most  highly  educated,  people  in  the  world.  Some- 
thing like  this  we  may  say  of  the  Yale  alumni, — if  they 
number  few  men  of  genius,  they  number  many  men  of 
talents,  usefulness  and  power;  if  there  are  none  who  are 
equal  to  Tennyson  and  Schiller  and  Victor  Hugo,  there  are 
many  who  have  been  the  advocates  of  truth  and  the  pro- 
moters of  social  reform,  in  terse  and  vigorous  English.  They 
have  excelled  in  the  pulpit  and  at  the  bar,  and  in  the  halls 
of  legislation,  so  that  without  mentioning  the  names  of  men 
whom  we  have  personally  known,  I  will  remind  you  of  that 
long  line  of  jurists  and  statesmen  who  were  living  near  the 
beginning  of  our  second  century,  William  Samuel  Johnson, 
Pelatiah  Webster,  John  C.  Calhoun,  James  Kent,  Jeremiah 
Mason,  and  that  constellation  of  New  England  theologians, 
an  innumerable  host,  from  Edwards  to  Taylor. 

Professor  Kingsley  was  called  the  Addison  of  America, 
and  he  had  such  wit,  knowledge  and  grace  as  might  have 
given  him  distinction  in  literary  composition  if  he  had  so 
directed  his  energy ;  but  he  was  one  of  those  "  generally  use- 
ful men  "  that  this  college  produces,  who  held  at  one  time 
what  we  should  call  four  chairs.  We  should  all  be  proud 
to  claim,  as  the  product  of  our  alma  mater,  James  Fenimore 
Cooper,  but  we  cannot,  for  like  Shelley  from  Oxford  he  was 
driven  out  because  of  a  boyish  misdemeanour.  If  we  cannot 
claim  Cooper,  Theodore  Winthrop  is  ours, — the  essayist  and 
novelist,  whose  posthumous  fame  shows  what*  was  lost  to 
letters  when  he  died  a  patriot's  death  upon  the  field  of  battle. 
Long  distant  be  the  day  when  Yale  will  place  among  the 
stelligerl  the  name  of  Donald  Grant  Mitchell,  historian  and 
essayist,  whose  writings  have  awakened  reveries  in  successive 
generations  of  Bachelors  graduating  from  these  walls,  whose 
life  has  been  to  them  a  bright  example  of  devotion  to  letters. 

In  the  second  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century  the  influ- 


i;6    THE   LAUNCHING   OF  A   UNIVERSITY 

ence  of  Coleridge  is  apparent.  William  Adams,  Horace 
Bushnell,  Lyman  Atwater,  William  Watson  Andrews,  and 
Noah  Porter  are  conspicuous  examples  of  this  infusion  of 
idealism.  Their  writings  are  in  evidence.  The  powerful 
imagination  which  produced  "  The  Ancient  Manner  "  and 
"  Christabel  "  had  been  directed  to  the  transcendent  study 
of  the  Infinite,  and  many  who  turned  away  from  the  most 
rigid  tenets  of  Calvin,  and  from  the  severe  interpretation 
of  the  Old  Testament,  were  strengthened  and  guided  by 
the  philosopher  of  Highgate. 

Bushnell  confessed  greater  indebtedness  to  "  Aids  to  Re- 
flection "  than  to  any  other  book  save  the  Bible.  Of  this 
theological  emancipator  I  am  not  called  upon  to  speak, — of 
the  gifted  writer  more  than  passing  mention  must  be  made. 
His  sermons,  addresses  and  essays  always  arrested  the  atten- 
tion and  excited  the  imagination  of  those  who  heard  and  those 
who  read  them.  For  example,  his  estimate  of  Connecticut, 
his  "  Age  of  Homespun,"  indeed  all  the  contents  of  his 
"  Work  and  Play,"  and  many  parts  of  "  Nature  and  the 
Supernatural,"  glow  with  life  and  fancy,  and  will  be  as  good 
reading  for  our  grandchildren  as  they  were  for  our  fathers. 
The  incisive  notes  of  his  voice  as  I  first  heard  it  when  an 
undergraduate  still  ring  in  my  ears, — and  his  racy  sentences, 
his  inspiring  and  suggestive  phrases,  and  the  eloquence  of  his 
thoughts  were  even  more  impressive  than  his  voice.  The 
name  of  Horace  Bushnell  is  a  precious  heirloom  handed  down 
from  the  Yale  of  the  last  century  to  the  Yale  of  the  present. 
He  was  an  orator,  a  poet,  a  lover  of  nature,  and  of  man, — 
fearless,  original,  persuasive,  too  liberal  for  the  conservatives, 
too  conservative  for  the  liberals  of  that  day,  now  honoured  in 
both  their  schools.  Horace  Bushnell  is  the  greatest  of  this 
theological  group.  Indeed  I  should  place  him,  in  genius, 
next  to  Jonathan  Edwards. 

Not  a  few  of  our  brethren  have  excelled  in  historical  writ- 
ing. Stiles  wrote  a  history  of  the  exiled  Judges,  and  Benja- 


RELATIONS   OF   YALE   TO   SCIENCE      177 

min  Trumbull  the  history  of  Connecticut;  Samuel  Farmer 
Jarvis  was  designated  historiographer  of  the  Episcopal 
Church;  Moses  Coit  Tyler  is  the  historian  of  American 
literature;  Andrew  D.  White  is  the  defender  of  science 
versus  bigotry,  whose  history  should  make  us  grateful  that 
Yale  has  been  one  of  the  most  important  American  agencies 
for  the  emancipation  of  the  human  intellect  from  ignorance 
and  dogmatism;  Charles  L.  Brace  is  the  exponent  of  Gesta 
Christ!;  George  P.  Fisher,  an  honoured  member  of  the 
Faculty  for  almost  fifty  years,  stands  in  the  foremost  rank 
among  the  ecclesiastical  historians  of  this  country,  and  Leon- 
ard Bacon,  the  Puritan,  always  remarkable  for  clearness  and 
vigour,  whether  religion  or  politics  was  his  theme,  is  the 
author  of  discourses  on  the  early  days  of  New  Haven,  which 
remain  unsurpassed  in  the  field  of  local  history.  He  was 
like  a  modern  Isaiah,  the  trenchant  defender  of  political 
righteousness.  Stille's  pamphlet,  "  How  a  Free  People  Con- 
duct a  Long  War,"  was  one  of  the  most  inspiring  products 
of  the  uprising  for  the  Union ;  and  Schuyler's  studies  in  Turk- 
istan  and  his  essays  in  diplomacy  are  enduring  memorials 
of  another  "  all  round  man,"  observer,  critic,  traveller,  essay- 
ist, historian,  diplomatist, — good  in  whatever  he  undertook. 
Comparative  philology  was  introduced  among  us  by  Josiah 
W.  Gibbs, — but  the  chief  impulse  in  this  direction  came  from 
Salisbury,  the  first  to  teach  Sanskrit  in  America.  He  recog- 
nised the  ability  and  secured  the  services  of  one  who  was  not 
a  graduate,  it  is  true,  but  an  adopted  son,  whose  honours  are 
our  honours,  whose  fame  carries  the  name  of  Yale  to  every 
university  of  the  Indo-European  world,  that  illustrious 
scholar,  William  D.  Whitney.  We  must  remember  that 
James  Murdock  in  1851  published  a  translation  of  the 
Peshito  Syriac  version  of  the  New  Testament;  that  Moses 
Stuart  at  an  earlier  day  carried  from  New  Haven  to  Andover, 
aa  enthusiastic,  if  not  always  accurate,  devotion  to  Biblical 
literature ;  and  that  a  learned  and  devoted  scholar,  Eli  Smith, 


i;8    THE   LAUNCHING  OF  A   UNIVERSITY 

within  sight  of  Mt.  Lebanon,  translated  nearly  all  the  Bible 
into  Arabic, — as  in  later  days  Hiram  Bingham  translated  it 
into  one  of  the  languages  of  the  Pacific  islands. 

Another  interesting  phase  of  philological  study  is  shown  in 
the  attention  given  to  the  study  of  the  languages  of  the  North 
JAmerican  Indians.  This  began  very  early,  when  Sergeant, 
Brainerd,  Spencer,  and  Edwards  were  engaged  as  mission- 
aries to  the  aborigines  in  Western  Massachusetts  and  in  Cen- 
tral New  York.  The  philological  importance  of  the  Ameri- 
can tongue  was  recognised  in  recent  days  by  James  Hammond 
Trumbull,  who  with  rare  aptitudes  for  the  elucidation  of 
knotty  problems,  directed  his  attention  to  the  Indian  lan- 
guages of  the  Eastern  States,  and  was  soon  acknowledged  as 
foremost  in  that  uninviting  and  perplexing  field  of  inquiry. 
Before  long  we  shall  have  his  lexicon  of  the  Natick  Speech, 
so  that  he  who  will  may  cultivate  the  love  of  comparative 
literature  by  reading  Eliot's  Indian  Bible.  Daniel  G.  Brin- 
ton  in  other  branches  of  aboriginal  research  has  also  won 
renown. 

An  unusual  manifestation  of  the  love  of  letters  is  shown 
by  the  attention  given  during  the  last  century  to  lexico- 
graphy. For  a  time  Yale  was  a  veritable  storm-centre. 
Webster  versus  Worcester,  and  Worcester  versus  Webster 
were  chieftains  in  this  "  Battle  of  the  Books,"  and  both 
authorities  were  graduates  of  Yale.  Lately,  Whitney,  W. 
the  Third,  has  taken  rank/ with  the  best  antecedents,  and  a 
score  of  co-operative  Yalensians,  many  of  them  specialists, 
have  been  engaged  in  the  improvement  of  the  three  great  dic- 
tionaries. It  is  customary  to  laugh  at  the  changes  in  spell- 
ing proposed  by  Noah  Webster,  and  certainly  some  of  the 
Johnsonese  definitions  which  he  propounded  were  mirth  pro- 
voking,—  ("sauce,"  for  example), — but  revised  and  im- 
proved by  Goodrich,  Porter,  Kingsley  and  others,  his  dic- 
tionary holds  its  own.  Its  popularity  was  due  in  part,  no 
doubt,  to  Webster's  spelling  book,  of  which  the  annual  sale 


RELATIONS   OF   YALE   TO   SCIENCE      179 

at  one  time  was  twelve  hundred  thousand  copies.  By  this 
primer  a  very  great  service  was  rendered  to  letters, — for  it 
helped  to  counteract  any  tendency  toward  provincial  or  dia- 
lectic peculiarities  among  the  heterogeneous  people  of  the 
United  States.  May  we  not  in  this  connection  remember 
that,  like  a  modern  Cadmus,  Morse  gave  an  alphabet  to  the 
silent  utterances  of  electricity, — now  employed  in  wireless 
telegraphy. 

Apart  from  theology,  philosophy  has  engaged  the  atten- 
tion of  many  of  our  ablest  brethren.  This  is  especially  true 
of  the  time  since  Porter  was  called  to  the  professorship  which 
he  held  with  conspicuous  distinction  for  almost  half  a  cen- 
tury, including  the  years  of  his  presidency.  A  recent  investi- 
gator has  traced  the  influence  of  this  able  teacher,  well  versed 
in  the  modern  writers  of  Germany,  who  made  metaphysics 
interesting  to  those  who  were  indifferent,  and  was  at  his  best 
in  the  analysis  of  conflicting  theories  and  in  the  detection 
of  subtle  errors.  As  a  lawyer  for  the  defence,  he  would 
have  been  the  peer  of  Rufus  Choate.  Not  a  few  of  his 
pupils  have  been  led  through  philosophy  to  pedagogics  and 
are  winning  distinction  in  this  field. 

This  review  would  be  incomplete  if  I  did  not  mention  the 
Yale  Literary  Magazine,  which  for  more  than  three  score 
years  has  kept  up  the  love  of  literature  among  the  under- 
graduates, and  has  furnished  them  with  appreciative  readers, 
critical  enough  and  friendly  enough  for  discipline.  Many 
editorial  writers  have  been  trained  by  their  service  on  this 
magazine,  since  William  M.  Evarts  set  the  press  in  motion. 
Older  Yalensians  have  had  their  opportunities  in  magazines 
of  wider  circulation,  the  Christian  Spectator  the  New  Eng- 
lander  and  the  Yale  Review, — not  officially  connected  with 
the  college,  but  supported  by  the  faculty. 

The  literary  societies  also,  which,  for  more  than  a  cen- 
tury, were  maintained  with  vigour,  seem  to  me  to  have  been 
one  of  the  very  best  agencies  for  youthful  discipline.  The 


i8o    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

spontaneous  efforts  of  young  men,  excited  by  the  emulation 
of  their  comrades,  and  controlled  by  the  friendly  criticism  of 
their  peers,  were  admirable  exercises  for  the  development  of 
the  love  of  poetry,  oratory,  essay  writing,  and  debate. 

One  of  the  greatest  services  which  this  college  has  ren- 
dered to  literature  and  science  has  been  the  preparation  of  an 
innumerable  host  of  teachers  and  professors.  The  list  is  too 
long  for  recapitulation  here, — but  a  few  names  must  be 
recalled.  The  earliest  was  Jonathan  Dickinson,  first  Presi- 
dent of  Princeton,  deemed  in  his  time  the  peer  of  Edwards, 
whose  immediate  successors  were  likewise  Yalensians.  Next 
came  Samuel  Johnson,  the  friend  of  Berkeley,  first  President 
of  Columbia  University,  and  his  more  famous  son,  William 
Samuel  Johnson,  elected  Provost  of  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania, who  succeeded  to  the  presidency  of  Columbia,  and 
stood  in  the  first  rank  among  the  statesmen  of  the  period  just 
subsequent  to  the  Revolution.  From  the  Wheelocks  of  Dart- 
mouth to  Sturtevant  of  Illinois,  Chauvenet  of  St.  Louis  and 
Chapin  of  Beloit,  the  file  leaders  in  our  colleges  have  con- 
stantly been  elected  from  Yale.  At  a  recent  date  lived 
Thomas  H.  Gallaudet,  pioneer  in  the  instruction  of  deaf 
mutes,  and  Henry  Barnard,  ever  to  be  associated  with  Horace 
Mann,  as  advocate,  expounder  and  promoter  of  the  American 
system  of  common  schools.  Nor  can  I  forget  Henry  Durant, 
and  the  other  graduates  of  this  college,  who  went  to  the 
Pacific  Coast,  "with  college  on  the  brain,"  and  planted  in 
California  the  seeds  of  learning  which  now  bear  harvests  of 
golden  grain.  A  happy  thought  gave  the  name  of  Berkeley 
to  the  site  near  the  Golden  Gate,  where  an  institution  begun 
by  our  brothers  fulfils  the  remarkable  prophecies  of  Timothy 
Dwight,  written  in  1794: 

"  All  hail !     Thou  Western  World !  by  heaven  designed 
The  example  bright  to  renovate  mankind ! 
Soon  shall  thy  sons  across  the  mainland  roam 
And  claim  on  fair  Pacific'?  shore  a  home. 


RELATIONS   OF  YALE   TO   SCIENCE       181 

"Where  marshes  teemed  with  death,  shall  meads  unfold, 
Untrodden  cliffs  resign  their  stores  of  gold. 
Where  slept  perennial  night,  shall  science  rise, 
And  new-born  Oxfords  cheer  the  evening  skies !  " 

Let  us  turn  from  letters  to  science.  As  I  scan  the  admin- 
istrative records,  from  the  beginning  onward,  with  the  aid  of 
our  right  well  beloved  and  trustworthy  archivists,  the  two 
Kingsleys  and  Dexter,  when  authority  passes  from  one 
President  to  another,  the  balance  is  kept  true.  Pierson  was 
an  exponent  of  geometry  and  a  defender  of  the  faith,  who 
wrote  out  lectures  upon  Physics,  and  dictated  them  to  succes- 
sive classes ;  Cutler's  short  service  gives  little  indication  of  his 
attitude ;  Williams  loved  public  life  more  than  academic  per- 
plexities ;  Clap  was  a  writer  on  ethical  and  astronomical  sub- 
jects,— a  student  of  the  Bible,  scarcely  equalled,  says  his  suc- 
cessor, in  mathematics  and  physics  by  any  man  in  America; 
Daggett,  extremely  orthodox,  was  scientific  enough  to  warn 
his  townsmen,  scared  by  "  the  Dark  Day,"  not  to  be  alarmed 
nor  "  inspired  to  prophesy  any  future  events — till  they  should 
come  to  pass;  "  Stiles  was  familiar  with  every  department  of 
learning, — "  theology,  literature,  science,  whatever  could  in- 
terest an  inquisitive  mind  ...  he  included  among  the 
subjects  of  his  investigations ; "  3  the  elder  Dwight  is  well 
known  for  the  impulse  that  he  gave  to  the  expansion  of  the 
college  in  all  directions;  the  judicious  Day  was  the  author 
of  a  metaphysical  study  and  of  mathematical  text-books; 
Woolsey  is  distinguished  as  the  promoter  of  classical  litera- 
ture, and  at  the  same  time  as  the  President  under  whom  the 
School  of  Science  was  developed;  Porter  and  the  younger 
Dwight  brought  the  University  forward  to  its  present  com- 
prehensiveness and  influence  in  all  branches  of  knowledge. 
Indeed,  science  and  letters  have  always  been  the  care  of  the 
Corporation,  and  such  will  be  the  case  while  the  helm  is  held 
by  the  discerning  and  vigorous  pilot  under  whom  the  bark 
3  Quoted  from  J.  L.  Kingsley. 


182    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

begins  another  voyage,  and  so  long  as  the  alumni  crew  support 
the  master  and  the  mates. 

Considering  the  hesitation  with  which  the  English  uni- 
versities recognised  the  study  of  nature  as  their  concern, 
and  how  easy  it  is  to  awaken  hostilities  between  the  students 
of  science  and  letters,  or  between  ecclesiastics  and  naturalists, 
it  is  well  to  remember  how  early  science  came  into  the  Yale 
curriculum,  and  how  steadily  it  has  held  its  place.  A  chair 
of  mathematics,  physics,  and  astronomy  was  instituted  thirty 
years  before  the  professorship  of  ancient  languages.  As  it 
is  pleasant  to  associate  the  name  of  Sir  Isaac  Newton  with 
the  beginning  of  our  library,  it  is  likewise  pleasant  to  re- 
member Benjamin  Franklin  as  a  donor  of  scientic  appa- 
ratus. "  Immortalis  Franklinus  "  he  was  called  by  Stiles. 
Before  the  college  was  fifty  years  old  he  had  become  its 
valued  friend,  and  was  enrolled  among  the  laureati  in  1753. 
Four  .years  previous  he  had  sent  here  an  electrical  machine 
which  enabled  the  young  tutor,  Ezra  Stiles,  to  perform  the 
first  electrical  experiments  tried  in  New  England.  A 
Fahrenheit  thermometer  was  a  subsequent  gift  of  Franklin's, 
and  his  influence  led  the  University  of  Edinburgh  to  con- 
fer upon  Stiles  a  Doctor's  degree. 

At  the  dawn  of  scientific  activity  in  New  England  we  see 
the  commanding  and  attractive  figure  of  our  elder  brother, 
Manasseh  Cutler,  storekeeper,  lawyer,  soldier,  statesman,  pas- 
tor, preacher,  physician  and  naturalist,  member  of  the  Legis- 
lature and  of  Congress,  appointed  to  the  federal  bench,  advo- 
cate of  the  "  homestead  "  policy,  and  a  pioneer  among  the 
settlers  of  the  wilderness  of  Ohio.  His  greatest  distinction  is 
the  part  that  the  took  in  drafting  and  passing  the  ordinance  of 
1787,  by  which  slavery  was  excluded  from  the  Northwest 
territory  and  a  grant  of  the  public  domain  was  secured  for 
the  promotion  of  education.  That  is  a  record  to  be  proud 
of,  brethren  of  the  Alumni,  but  it  does  not  include  the  whole 
story.  Cutler,  a  man  of  the  true  scientific  spirit^  an  ob- 


RELATIONS   OF  YALE  TO   SCIENCE     183 

server  of  the  heavens  above  and  of  the  earth  beneath,  is  the 
father  of  New  England  botany.  He  made  a  noteworthy 
contribution  to  the  memoirs  of  the  American  Academy,  col- 
lected and  described  between  three  and  four  hundred  plants 
of  New  England,  and  left  seven  volumes  of  manuscript  notes, 
which  are  now  in  the  Harvard  herbarium,  awaiting  the  edi- 
torial care  of  a  botanical  antiquary.  Franklin  and  Jeffer- 
son valued  him  as  a  friend,  and  his  correspondents  in  Europe 
were  among  the  chief  naturalists  of  the  day. 

About  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  Dwight  and 
his  three  professors,  who  only  uttered  sotto  voce  the  word 
university  (though  Stiles  had  written  it  in  1777),  lest  they 
should  be  regarded  as  pretenders,  introduced  a  new  era  in 
which  the  progress  has  been  constant  and  of  increasing  rapid- 
ity. In  this  new  era  classical  studies  have  been  promoted  by 
Kingsley,  the  lover  of  antiquity,  whose  keen  sword  defended 
the  study  of  the  classics ;  Woolsey,  the  lover  of  letters,  who  in- 
troduced us  to  Plato  and  the  dramatists  of  Greece ;  Thacher, 
the  lover  of  students;  Hadley,  the  lover  of  lore;  Packard, 
the  lover  of  learning, — and  by  the  accomplished  standard 
bearers  still  living;  and  science  likewise  had  its  skilled  pro- 
moters; Silliman,  leader  in  chemistry,  mineralogy  and 
geology,  the  alluring  teacher,  the  captivating  lecturer,  un- 
surpassed by  any,  equalled  only  by  Agassiz;  Olmsted,  the 
patient,  inventive  instructor,  whose  impulses  toward  original 
investigation  were  not  supported  by  his  opportunities ;  Loomis, 
interpreter  of  the  law  of  storms  and  master  of  the  whirl- 
wind ;  Dana,  the  oceanographer,  who  wore  the  tiara  of  three 
sciences;  Newton,  devoted  to  abstract  thought,  who  re- 
vealed the  mysteries  of  meteoric  showers  and  their  relation 
to  comets,  not  before  suggested;  and  Marsh,  the  inland  ex- 
plorer, whose  discoveries  had  an  important  bearing  on  the 
doctrine  of  evolution, — these  all  with  the  brilliant  corps  of  the 
Sheffield  Scientific  School  were  men  of  rare  ability  who  ex- 
pounded and  illustrated  the  laws  of  nature  with  such  clear- 


1 84    THE   LAUNCHING   OF  A   UNIVERSITY 

ness  and  force  that  the  graduates  of  Yale  are  everywhere  to 
be  counted  as  for  certain  the  promoters  of  science. 

Two  agencies  are  conspicuous  in  the  retrospective  of  this 
second  era,  the  American  Journal  of  Science  and  the  Sheffield 
Scientific  School.  Benjamin  Silliman  showed  great  sagacity 
when  he  perceived,  in  1818,  the  importance  of  publication, 
and  established,  of  his  own  motion,  on  a  plan  that  is  still 
maintained,  a  repository  of  scientific  papers,  which  through  its 
long  history  has  been  recognised  both  in  Europe  and  in  the 
United  States  as  comprehensive  and  accurate;  a  just  and 
sympathetic  recorder  of  original  work;  a  fair  critic  of  do- 
mestic and  foreign  researches ;  and  a  constant  promoter  of  ex- 
periment and  observation.  It  is  an  unique  history.  For 
more  than  eighty  years  this  journal  has  been  edited  and  pub- 
lished by  members  of  a  single  family, — three  generations  of 
them, — with  unrequited  sacrifices,  unquestioned  authority, 
unparalleled  success.  In  the  profit  and  loss  account,  it  ap- 
pears that  the  college  has  never  contributed  to  the  financial 
support,  but  it  has  itself  gained  reputation  from  the  fact  that 
throughout  the  world  of  Science,  Silliman  and  Dana,  suc- 
cessive editors,  from  volume  I  to  volume  162,  have  been 
known  as  members  of  the  Faculty  of  Yale.  I  am  sure  that 
no  periodical,  I  am  not  sure  that  any  academy  or  university 
in  the  land  has  had  as  strong  an  influence  upon  science  as 
the  American  Journal  of  Science  and  Arts. 

A  century  has  nearly  passed  since  Benjamin  Silliman  was 
chosen  a  professor  and  went  to  Scotland,  there  to  fit  himself 
for  the  duties  of  the  chair.  What  a  century  it  has  been! 
The  widespread  interest  among  our  countrymen  in  geology, 
mineralogy,  and  chemistry  is  due  in  no  small  degree  to  his 
college  instructions  and  to  the  lectures  that  he  delivered  in 
many  cities  between  Boston  and  New  Orleans. 

The  Sheffield  School  celebrated  three  years  ago  its  semi- 
centennial, and  its  useful  services  were  rehearsed  by  one  who 
will  not  venture  to  offer  you  a  twice  told  tale.  You  must, 


RELATIONS   OF   YALE   TO   SCIENCE       185 

however,  permit  him  to  remind  you  that  fifty  years  ago  the 
choice  of  studies  was  but  timidly  permitted  in  the  traditional 
college,  and  that  there  was  a  strong  demand  for  courses  less 
classical,  more  scientific  than  were  then  offered.  These 
wants  the  school  supplied  without  antagonism  or  rivalry, 
though  not  without  the  awakening  of  alarm.  It  proved  to 
be  a  rich  addition  to  the  resources  and  the  renown  of  Yale,  as 
everyone  admits.  Its  faculty  was  made  up  chiefly  of  men 
whose  ideas  were  broad,  whose  distinction  was  acknowledged, 
whose  methods  were  approved,  and  this,  with  the  munificent 
support  of  the  benefactor  whose  name  the  school  has  been 
proud  to  bear,  enabled  Yale  to  stand  forth  as  the  ready,  wise 
and  resolute  promoter  of  education  in  science.  The  alumni 
of  the  school  are  the  proofs  of  its  success. 

Agricultural  science  in  the  United  States  owes  much  to  the 
influences  which  have  gone  out  from  the  Sheffield  School. 
John  P.  Norton,  John  A.  Porter,  Samuel  W.  Johnson,  Wil- 
liam H.  Brewer,  each  in  his  own  peculiar  way,  has  rendered 
much  service.  Johnson  is  pre-eminent,  and  in  addition  to  his 
standing  as  a  chemist  is  honoured  as  one  of  the  first  and  most 
persuasive  advocates  of  the  Experiment  Stations  now  main- 
tained, with  the  aid  of  the  government,  in  every  part  of  the 
country.  We  cannot  forget  the  value  of  "  the  crops," — we 
may  forget  how  much  their  value  has  been  enhanced  by  the 
quiet,  inconspicuous,  patient  and  acute  observations  of  such 
men  as  those  whom  I  have  named,  the  men  behind  the  men 
who  stand  behind  the  plough.  They  are  the  followers  in  our 
generation  of  Jared  Eliot,  the  colonial  advocate  of  agricul- 
tural science. 

In  the  thirties  there  was  an  informal  association  which 
may  be  called  a  voluntary  syndicate  for  the  study  of 
astronomy.  Its  members  were  young  men  of  talents,  en- 
thusiasm and  genuine  desire  to  advance  the  bounds  of  human 
knowledge,  but  their  time  was  absorbed  by  various  vocations, 
and  their  apparatus  seems  lamentably  inadequate  in  these  days 


1 86    THE  LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

of  Lick  and  Yerkes,  of  spectroscopes,  heliometres  and  pho- 
tography. Yet  we  may  truly  claim  that  the  example  and 
success  of  these  Yale  brethren  initiated  that  zeal  for  as- 
tronomical research  which  distinguished  our  countrymen. 

The  Clark  telescope,  acquired  in  1830,  was  an  excellent 
glass,  though  badly  mounted,  and  was  then  unsurpassed  in 
the  United  States.  One  of  its  earliest  and  noteworthy  reve- 
lations was  the  appearance  of  H alley's  comet,  which  was 
observed,  from  the  tower  in  the  Athenaeum,  weeks  before  the 
news  arrived  of  its  having  been  seen  in  Europe.  This  gave 
an  impulse  to  observatory  projects  in  Cambridge  and  Phila- 
delphia, and  college  after  college  soon  emulated  the  example 
of  Yale  by  establishing  observatories  in  embryo,  for  the  study 
of  the  heavens.  The  most  brilliant  luminary  in  our  con- 
stellation was  Ebenezer  Porter  Mason,  a  genius,  who  died  at 
twenty-two,  having  made  a  profound  impression  on  his  con- 
temporaries by  discoveries,  observations,  computations  and 
delineations.  After  his  death,  which  was  lamented  like  that 
of  Horrox,  it  was  not  thought  an  exaggeration  to  compare 
his  powers  with  those  of  Sir  William  Herschel, — or  even  with 
those  of  Galileo.  Under  the  leadership  of  Olmsted,  Herrick, 
Bradley,  Loomis  and  Hamilton  L.  Smith  were  associate  ob- 
servers, and  they  were  afterwards  re-enforced  by  Twining, 
Lyman  and  Newton.  Chauvenet  became  a  writer  and 
teacher  of  renown,  and  the  missionary  Stoddard  carried  to 
the  Nestorians  a  telescope  that  he  had  made  at  Yale  under 
the  syndicate's  influence. 

The  investigations  of  these  astronomers  were  directed  to 
the  aurora  borealis,  the  zodiacal  light,  the  recurrence  of 
comets,  the  meteoric  showers,  and  the  possible  existence  of 
an  intra-mercurial  planet.  Newton  became  the  most  dis- 
tinguished of  the  group.  Partly  by  antiquarian  researches 
in  the  records  of  the  past,  continuing  the  notes  of  Herrick, 
partly  by  mathematical  analysis  and  a  careful  comparison  of 
the  paths  of  meteors  he  determined  the  periodicity  of  these 


RELATIONS   OF  YALE   TO   SCIENCE       187 

mysterious  and  fascinating  phenomena,  and  their  relation  to 
comets. 

The  astronomical  syndicate  of  Olmsted  and  his  pupils  was 
long  ago  dissolved,  but  its  spirit  hovers  near  us,  and  beyond 
Sachem's  Wood,  in  the  Winchester  Observatory,  skilled  as- 
tronomers with  their  great  heliometer  are  engaged  upon  prob- 
lems which  were  not  even  thought  of  by  the  discerning  in- 
tellect of  Mason  and  his  brilliant  confreres. 

In  the  science  of  mineralogy  Yale  has  long  maintained  the 
American  leadership.  Every  one  of  us  has  heard  the  story 
of  the  candle-box  of  specimens,  which  Silliman  carried  to 
Philadelphia  to  be  named,  and  every  one  of  us  has  seen  the 
subsequent  accretions  to  be  the  nucleus,  beginning  with  the 
Gibbs  cabinet,  now  shown  in  the  Peabody  Museum.  No  one 
is  likely  to  over-estimate  the  influence  of  this  collection  upon 
the  mind  of  James  D.  Dana,  nor  to  over-estimate  the  value 
of  his  treatise  on  mineralogy  which,  revised  and  enlarged  by 
able  co-operators,  continues  to  be  a  standard  authority^  in 
every  country  where  mineralogy  is  studied.  In  view  of  its 
recent  acquisition,  I  am  tempted  to  speak  of  the  Museum  as 
the  "  House  of  the  Dinosaur."  Its  choice  collections  give 
an  epitome  of  the  sciences  of  mineralogy,  crystallography, 
meteoroids,  geology,  palaeontology,  and  natural  history,  from 
the  days  of  Silliman  to  those  of  the  Danas,  Brush,  Marsh 
and  Verrill. 

The  heart  of  a  university  is  its  library.  If  that  is  vigor- 
ous, every  part  of  the  body  is  benefited.  Our  college  began 
with  books ;  the  incunabula  were  given  by  the  founders,  good 
books  no  doubt,  if  not  a  single  volume  relating  to  classical 
literature  or  the  sciences  were  among  them.  Noteworthy 
accessions  came  at  an  early  day,  some  of  them  from  Elihu 
Yale.  Think  of  eight  hundred  volumes  sent  from  England, 
including  the  gifts  of  many  famous  writers.  Remember  such 
donors  as  Sir  Richard  Steele,  of  the  Spectator,  and  the  great 
Sir  Isaac  Newton, — and  then  be  grateful  to  forgotten 


V"        O 

UNIVERSITY 


1 88    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

Jeremiah  Dummer,  who  collected  and  forwarded  this  precious 
invoice.  Fifteen  years  later  than  Dummer's  donation  came 
nine  hundred  volumes  from  Bishop  Berkeley,  which  with  his 
bequest  for  scholarships  and  prizes,  entitle  him  to  receive 
the  highest  praise  as  an  early  and  liberal  promoter  of  the 
humanities.  Renewed  homage  should  now  be  given  to  the 
benefactor  whose  timely  and  catholic  bounty  enriched  this 
adolescent  college.  Therefore,  let  us  repeat  once  more  the 
verse  of  Alexander  Pope,  and  ascribe  "  To  Berkeley,  every 
virtue  under  heaven."  Gratitude  to  this  great  philosopher 
shall  not  diminish  our  acknowledgments  to  that  long  line  of 
donors  who  have  made  the  library  worthy  of  the  university 
which  has  grown  up  around  it, — Chittenden,  foremost  among 
them. 

Bibliographers  and  librarians  are  the  servants  of  the  tem- 
ple,— servi  servorum  academic?, — and  such  as  Edward  C. 
Herrick,  Henry  Stevens,  William  F.  Poole,  James  Ham- 
mond Trumbull,  and  Robbins  Little,  are  rare  men,  conspicu- 
ous among  the  promoters  of  historical  research. 

In  controversial  periods  the  attitude  of  Yale  has  been  very 
serviceable  to  the  advancement  of  truth.  The  Copernican 
cosmography  was  probably  accepted  from  the  beginning, 
although  elsewhere  the  Ptolemaic  conceptions  of  the  universe 
maintained  their  supremacy,  and  the  notes  which  Rector 
Pierson  made  on  Physics  when  he  was  a  student  in  Harvard 
come  "  between  the  Ptolemaic  theory  and  the  Newtonian  " 
(Dexter).  When  geology  became  a  science,  its  discoveries 
were  thought  to  be  in  conflict  with  the  teachings  of  the 
Scripture.  Ridicule  attacked  the  arguments  of  science,  and 
opprobrium  was  thrown  upon  the  students  of  nature.  Brave 
Silliman  stood  firm  in  the  defence  of  geology,  and  although 
some  of  the  bastions  on  which  he  relied  became  untenable,  the 
keep  never  surrendered,  the  flag  was  never  lowered.  When 
the  modern  conceptions  of  evolution  were  brought  forward 
by  Darwin,  Wallace  and  their  allies,  when  conservatists 


RELATIONS   OF   YALE   TO   SCIENCE       189 

dreaded  and  denounced  the  new  interpretation  of  the  natural 
world,  the  wise  and  cautious  utterances  of  Dana  at  first  dis- 
sipated all  apprehensions  of  danger,  and  then  accepted  in  the 
main  the  conclusions  of  the  new  biological  school.  The 
graduates  who  came  under  his  influence  were  never  fright- 
ened by  chimaeras.  Marsh's  expeditions  to  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, and  his  marvellous  discoveries  of  ancient  life,  made 
the  Peabody  Museum  an  important  repository  of  geological 
testimony  to  the  truth  of  evolution. 

I  remember  the  surprise  of  Huxley  in  1875  when,  at  a 
dinner  of  the  X  Club  in  London,  I  told  him  of  Marsh's  dis- 
covery of  the  fossil  horse.  In  the  following  year,  the  great 
English  naturalist  came  to  New  Haven  to  see  in  the  Peabody 
Museum  that  of  which  he  had  heard  and  read.  In  his  lec- 
tures at  New  York  he  soon  described  the  work  of  Marsh,  and 
subsequently  referred  to  its  important  bearings. 

Scant  justice  has  been  done  in  this  discourse  to  the  sciences 
promoted  at  Yale, — and  the  deficiency  is  the  more  apparent 
when  I  think  of  the  men  now  living  whose  work  has  been 
precluded  from  our  scope.  The  next  centennial  discourse 
may  do  justice  to  them.  Among  the  departed  whose  careers 
were  made  outside  the  walls  of  Yale,  Percival,  the  geologist  of 
Connecticut  and  Wisconsin,  J.  D.  Whitney,  the  geologist  of 
California,  Chauvenet,  the  mathematician,  Hubbard,  the 
astronomer,  Sullivant,  the  chief  authority  in  mosses  as  Eaton 
is  in  ferns,  F.  A.  P.  Barnard,  the  accomplished  President  of 
Columbia,  Eli  Whitney,  the  inventor  of  the  cotton-gin,  and 
S.  F.  B.  Morse,  whose  name  is  familiar  from  its  relation  to 
the  electric  telegraph, — are  especially  entitled  to  honourable 
mention  in  this  jubilee.  So  is  a  much  older  graduate,  David 
Bushnell,  the  inventor  of  submarine  explosives, — the  precur- 
sor of  the  modern  torpedoes.  So  also,  Elisha  Mitchell, 
mineralogist,  geologist,  explorer,  whose  body  is  entombed 
upon  the  lofty  peak  in  North  Carolina  which  bears  his 
honoured  name. 


i9o    THE   LAUNCHING   OF  A   UNIVERSITY 

There  is  a  good  deal  to  think  about  in  the  annals  of  Yale. 
It  is  not  a  perfect  record.  Deficiencies,  errors,  failures  are 
met  with  from  time  to  time, — such  as  are  found  in  every 
human  institution,  even  in  those  most  sacred.  It  is  not  my 
business  to  seek  them  or  point  them  out.  It  is  rather  my 
privilege  to  honour  the  good  men  that  have  built  up  for  us 
and  for  our  successors  this  great  edifice,  upon  the  firm  foun- 
dations of  devotion  and  faith;  to  admire  the  skill,  the  pru- 
dence and  the  honesty  with  which  inadequate  resources  have 
been  husbanded;  and  especially  to  appreciate  that  admirable 
union  of  conservative  and  progressive  forces  which  keeps  hold 
of  that  which  is  good  until  the  better  is  reached,  that  believes 
in  the  study  of  Nature  and  all  its  manifestations,  and  of 
Man  and  all  that  he  has  achieved  in  language,  philosophy, 
government,  religion,  and  the  liberal  arts. 

This  honoured  and  reverend  seminary  has  taught  thousands 
of  men  of  talent  to  be  wise  and  good  citizens,  avoiding 
avarice  and  pretence,  ready  for  service  wherever  Providence 
might  call  them,  in  education,  philanthropy,  diplomacy, 
statesmanship,  church-work,  literature  and  science ;  not  a  few 
men  of  genius  have  submitted  themselves  to  her  discipline 
and  acknowledged  the  inspiration  derived  from  her  counsels ; 
some  of  her  sons  have  laid  down  their  lives  for  God  and 
their  country;  many  have  carried  to  the  ends  of  the  earth 
her  precepts  and  principles ;  all,  or  nearly  all,  have  been  the 
friends  and  supporters  of  republican  institutions,  the  lovers 
of  sound  learning  and  good  books,  the  promoters  of  science 
whenever  their  aid  was  wanted,  its  alert  defenders  against 
bigotry  and  alarm,  confessors  of  the  Christian  doctrine. 

What  is  the  Yale  spirit?  Is  it  not  the  spirit  of  the  bee- 
hive? I  repeat  the  words  of  Maeterlinck: 

"The  spirit  of  the  hive  is  prudent  and  thrifty,  but  by 
no  means  parsimonious.  It  is  the  spirit  of  the  hive  that 
scares  away  vagabonds,  marauders  and  loiterers;  expels  all 
intruders;  attacks  redoubtable  foes  in  a  body,  or  if  needs 


RELATIONS   OF   YALE   TO   SCIENCE      191 

be,  barricades  the  entrance.  It  is  the  spirit  of  the  hive 
that  fixes  the  hour  of  the  great  annual  sacrifice,  the  hour> 
that  is,  of  the  swarm,  when  those  who  have  attained  the 
topmost  pinnacle,  suddenly  abandon  to  the  coming  genera- 
tion their  wealth  and  their  palaces,  their  homes  and  their 
honey, — themselves  content  to  encounter  the  hardships  and 
perils  of  a  new  and  distant  country.  Little  city,  abounding 
in  faith  and  mystery  and  hope." 

May  I  carry  the  simile  further?  "The  bees,"  says  the 
poetic  observer,  "  have  stings  which  they  use  against  foes  and 
even  in  fights  among  themselves,  but  they  never  draw  their 
stings  against  the  queen."  Alma  mater  is  our  queen.  Against 
her  foes,  against  one  another,  we  may  be  forced  to  draw  our 
weapons,  but  never  against  the  queen,  alma  mater  carissima. 

The  spirit  of  Yale,  a  mysterious  and  subtle  influence,  is 
the  spirit  of  the  hive, — intelligence,  industry,  order,  obedi- 
ence, community,  living  for  others,  not  for  one's  self,  the 
greatest  happiness  in  the  utmost  service.  Virgil's  words  are 
on  the  hive, — Sic  vos  non  vobis. 

The  new  order,  which  gives  to  adolescence  an  extreme 
freedom  in  the  choice  of  studies,  may  be  more  favourable 
than  the  old,  to  the  production  of  men  of  letters,  poets,  ora- 
tors, historians,  essayists, — and  of  investigators  who  will  ex- 
tend the  bounds  of  mathematical,  physical  and  natural 
science.  Nobody  can  tell.  Everyone  is  hopeful.  But 
with  all  their  gettings,  may  the  new  generation  emulate  their 
forebears  in  wisdom,  self-control,  sound  judgment,  and  in 
hearty  appreciation  of  all  that  books  have  recorded  and  all 
that  nature  has  revealed. 

Much  reproach  has  been  thrown  upon  the  studies  of 
colonial  days  because  they  were  mainly  directed  toward 
theology  and  philosophy,  and  because  there  was  so  little  study 
of  the  natural  world.  It  is  well  to  reply  that  nature  studies 
are  the  growth  of  the  last  century,  since  Berzelius, 
Cuvier  and  Liebig  initiated  the  modern  methods  of  enquiry, 


192    THE   LAUNCHING   OF  A   UNIVERSITY 

carried  on  by  Faraday,  Darwin  and  Dana.  Remember  also 
that  rigid  discipline  in  logic  and  dialectics  makes  clear  and 
accurate  thinkers,  fitted  to  treat  the  current  questions  of 
society  with  discrimination,  perspicuity  and  persuasion.  If 
our  grandfathers  did  not  excel  in  what  we  are  pleased  to  call 
literature,  they  were  taught  to  follow  a  rule  of  the  illustrious 
Goethe,  "  to  use  words  coinciding  as  closely  as  possible  with 
what  we  feel,  see,  think,  experience,  imagine  and  reason." 
Such  men  were  fitted  to  take  part  in  the  great  Revolution  of 
1776,  and  in  more  recent  wars;  to-be  influential  in  the  forma- 
tion of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  in  the 
administration  of  justice  and  order  in  every  State  of  the 
Union;  qualified  likewise  to  lead  in  the  organisation  and 
development  of  academies  of  science  and  schools  of  learning, 
defenders  of  the  faith,  upholders  of  right  conduct,  advocates 
of  civil  service  reform,  promoters  of  literature  and  science; 
and  in  general,  trained  by  such  discipline  as  they  here 
received  in  mathematics,  logic,  history,  language,  philosophy, 
and  science,  to  be  the  leading  men  in  every  community  where 
their  homes  were  placed. 

Sic  vox  non  vobis  mellificatis  apes. 


BOOKS   AND  POLITICS 

An    Address  on  the  Completion    of  a    New 
Library  Building  at  Princeton  University 


For  several  years  after  its  sesqui-centennial  was  cele- 
brated, Princeton  University  assembled  its  graduates 
and  students  near  the  opening  of  the  Academic  year  for 
some  special  purpose.  In  1898  the  new  Library  Build- 
ing was  completed,  and  on  that  occasion  the  following 
address  was  delivered.  It  was  a  time  of  great  public 
excitement,  when  all  the  questions  involved  in  the 
Cuban  War  were  attracting  attention  and  dividing 
the  opinions  of  thoughtful  citizens. 


XII 

BOOKS    AND    POLITICS — AN    ADDRESS    ON    THE    COMPLETION 

OF   A   NEW    LIBRARY    BUILDING   AT    PRINCETON 

UNIVERSITY 

WHEN  ^Eneas,  in  his  wanderings  from  Troy  toward  the 
Lavinian  shores,  touched  the  domains  of  Dido  and  saw  the 
rising  walls  of  Carthage,  he  likened  the  place  to  a  hive  of 
bees.  "  The  work  is  all  fire,"  he  exclaims.  "  A  scent  of 
thyme  breathes  from  the  fragrant  honey."  As  he  looked  up- 
ward to  roof  and  tower,  his  soul  was  filled  with  envious  ad- 
miration, and  these  were  his  words:  "  O  happy  they  whose 
city  is  rising  already."  With  a  like  exclamation  I  salute  this 
fortunate  university.  Its  ample  campus,  its  engaging  pros- 
pects, its  historic  associations,  its  spacious  halls  lead  me  to 
repeat  the  Trojan's  exclamation: 

O  fortunati  quorum  jam  moenia  surgunt, 
JEneas  ait,  et  fastigia  suspicit  urbis. 

Among  these  rising  walls  it  is  the  Library  which  claims 
attention  to-day; — the  Library,  latest  and  best  of  the  struc- 
tures surrounding  Nassau  Hall.  Latest,  I  say,  not  last, 
for  imagination  already  pictures  other  halls  upon  this  cam- 
pus; best,  not  in  the  least  to  disparage  this  theatre,  that 
chapel,  those  fraternities,  that  museum,  these  dormitories, — 
the  best  because  the  Library  of  a  university  is  its  very  heart. 
If  the  heart  is  weak,  every  organ  suffers;  if  strong,  all  are 
invigorated.  Its  impulses  send  nourishment  to  every  nerve, 
sinew,  and  muscle.  True  it  is  that  stone  and  wood,  however 
ornamental,  do  not  make  a  Library, — nor  does  a  heap  of 
books,  hoarded  by  an  antiquary  in  some  dark  loft,  ill-arranged, 


196    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

inaccessible  and  laden  with  dust.  Choice  materials  well  ad- 
ministered in  a  fitting  hall,  are  the  two  essentials. 

Those  who  have  watched,  amazed,  the  remarkable  trans- 
formation of  American  seminaries  during  the  last  quarter  of 
the  nineteenth  century,  may  ask  what  is  to  be,  in  this  land, 
the  university  of  the  future.  Who  can  cast  its  horoscope? 
Certainly  I  cannot.  Yet  without  question  the  Libraries 
and  Laboratories  are  to  be  joint  sovereigns, — libraries  which 
treasure  the  archives  of  the  human  race,  laboratories  which 
open  the  arcana  of  nature;  and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  the  uni- 
versity of  the  future,  even  more  than  the  university  of  the 
present,  will  be  controlled  by  three  factors, — teachers,  in- 
struments and  books. 

The  old  idea  that  a  library  is  a  place  to  go  and  get  some- 
thing to  read,  has  given  way  to  the  new  idea  that  it  is  a  place 
for  study.  Panizzi's  injunction  might  be  written  on  its 
walls :  "  I  would  have  this  place  so  convenient  and  so  com- 
plete that  no  private  person  however  rich  can  own  its  equiva- 
lent." To  this  might  be  added  as  the  law  of  Nassau  Hall, — 
"  Every  librarian  must  be  a  professor;  every  professor  must 
be  a  librarian."  That  is  to  say,  every  person  in  charge  of 
the  university  collections  must  be  a  student,  capable  of  teach- 
ing. His  specialty  must  be  bibliography,  or,  if  the  staff 
is  large,  some  branch  of  bibliography,  literary,  historical, 
philosophical  or  scientific,  and  he  must  know  not  only  what 
his  collection  includes,  but  what  it  needs.  Likewise,  every 
professor  must  know  the  printed  apparatus  of  his  own  de- 
partment, so  that  he  can  be  an  assistant  to  the  Librarian,  as 
well  as  a  guide  to  the  adolescent  scholar.  By  this  joint  ac- 
tion of  the  expert  bibliographer  and  the  alert  investigator, 
good  libraries  are  built  up. 

Four  functions  of  a  public  or  collegiate  Library, — some- 
times kept  distinct,  usually  more  or  less  combined,  should 
always  be  borne  in  mind. 

The  first  is  circulation,  the  loaning  of  books  for  private 


BOOKS   AND    POLITICS  197 

use, — a  popular,  an  indispensable  service,  to  which  alone  the 
early  American  libraries  were  usually  restricted. 

The  second  is  storage, — the  accumulation  of  everything 
printed, — good,  bad  and  indifferent, — because  some  day  it 
may  be  wanted.  Like  the  contents  of  a  farmer's  garret,  you 
may  say;  yet  you  should  also  say  that  to  this  conservative 
function,  the  great  libraries  of  the  world  are  consecrated. 
Without  such  store-houses  the  great  histories  and  biographies 
of  modern  literature  could  not  have  been  written. 

The  third  function  is  reference.  This  term  was  the 
favourite  expression  of  the  last  generation,  when  Astor, 
Lenox,  Peabody,  and  other  founders  endeavoured  to  lift  the 
library  above  the  plane  of  circulation  and  entertainment,  and 
even  of  storage.  They  sought  to  bring  the  public  library 
within  the  range  of  scholarship,  and  we  are  grateful  heirs  of 
their  endeavours. 

Finally,  libraries  are  now  recognised  as  places  of  research, 
a  higher  function  than  that  of  reference.  This  marks  a  great 
advance  quite  in  accord  with  the  dominant  spirit  of  enquiry 
and  investigation.  Here  comes  in  Justin  Winsor's  law, — 
"  A  book  is  never  so  useful  as  when  it  is  in  use,"  and  the 
necessary  corollary  that  every  possible  effort  must  be  made 
to  facilitate  the  use  of  books.  Hence  the  university  of  the 
future  is  bound  to  develop  and  augment  its  facilities  for 
literary  research.  Literary  seminaries  must  run  parallel  with 
scientific  laboratories ;  or,  to  use  a  better  phrase, — in  the  uni- 
versity of  the  future,  these  two  kinds  of  working  rooms  must 
be  equally  maintained,  equipped,  adapted  to  special  needs, 
and  made  light,  quiet  and  convenient  for  study. 

A  little  reflection  will  show  that  the  world  has  never  been 
so  well  prepared  as  now  for  the  use  of  the  past  experience  of 
mankind ;  never  were  the  lessons  of  remote  antiquity,  or  the 
origin  of  our  fundamental  conceptions  of  religion  and  politics 
so  clear;  never  were  diplomatic  negotiations  so  quickly  re- 
moved from  the  seal  of  mystery  and  privacy ;  never  were  the 


198    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

intimate  records  of  cabinets  and  sovereigns  so  freely  made 
public;  never  were  the  long  series  of  historical  monuments, 
and  other  memoires  inedites,  so  accessible;  never  were  biog- 
raphies of  great  leaders  so  amplified, — Napoleon,  Goethe, 
Gladstone,  Bismarck;  never  were  the  auxiliary  index-makers 
so  accurate  and  painstaking;  never  was  periodical  literature 
so  inquisitive,  suggestive,  and  comprehensive;  never  were 
students  of  history  so  numerous  or  so  well  disciplined ;  never 
were  great  collections  from  the  Tiber  to  the  Potomac  so  open 
as  now. 

Let  me  draw  from  current  affairs  some  illustrations  of  the 
highest  service  that  libraries  can  render  to  the  community  in 
which  they  are  placed.  Go  to  the  Brooklyn  Navy  Yard  and 
ask  leave  to  visit  a  battleship  or  armed  cruiser.  Place  your- 
self, if  permitted,  under  the  guidance  of  a  naval  officer.  Lis- 
ten to  his  story  of  how  the  ship  was  designed,  constructed, 
protected,  armed,  equipped,  navigated,  carried  into  action, 
and  brought  out  of  the  terrific  fire  unscathed  and  victorious. 
In  the  aggregate  and  the  detail  you  will  see  the  results  of  ap- 
plied science  more  impressive  than  any  of  the  seven  wonders 
of  the  world.  As  illustrations  of  human  power,  the  pyramid 
of  Cheops,  the  dome  of  St.  Peter's,  the  great  bridges,  the  con- 
tinental railways,  the  Eiffel  tower  take  a  secondary  rank 
when  compared  with  a  battleship.  Every  branch  of  physical 
science  has  contributed  to  naval  architecture.  Mathematics, 
mechanics,  electricity,  chemistry,  metallurgy  produced  the 
tremendous  enginery  of  the  Oregon,  able  to  ride  upon  stormy 
waves  and  encounter  the  cyclone  unharmed,  double  Cape 
Horn  without  replenishing  its  coal,  discharge  its  explosives 
with  consummate  accuracy,  destroy  the  enemy  and  protect  the 
lives  and  limbs  of  officers  and  crew.  Whence  is  this  applied 
science  derived?  From  thousands  of  years  of  research  and 
record.  Mathematics  begins  with  theorems  as  old  as  Euclid ; 
steel  with  the  earliest  extraction  of  the  ore ;  the  luminous  elec- 
tron of  primeval  men  was  the  dawn  of  electricity;  so,  in  every 


BOOKS   AND   POLITICS  199 

department,  the  work  of  many  generations  has  accumulated. 
And  where  is  this  knowledge  stored  up?  It  is  perpetuated 
and  augmented  in  libraries;  it  is  taught  in  colleges,  schools 
of  science,  and  naval  academies ;  by  its  acquisition  "  the  man 
behind  the  gun  "  is  disciplined  in  accuracy,  coolness,  memory, 
ingenuity,  judgment,  and  intellectual  strength. 

Pass  from  the  domain  of  science  to  that  of  history.  You 
are  more  or  less  familiar  with  the  Venezuelan  incident  of 
three  years  ago.  Certainly  a  distinguished  graduate  of 
Nassau  Hall,  now  resident  in  Princeton,  knows  more  about 
that  stirring  episode  of  United  States  History  than  anybody 
living — except,  perhaps,  that  learned  and  masterful  publicist 
who  held  the  portfolio  of  foreign  affairs  during  the  later 
years  of  the  last  administration. 

But  let  me  tell  you  of  some  details  that  have  never  been 
made  the  subject  of  public  comment.  By  the  authority  of 
Congress,  the  President  appointed  a  commission  to  investi- 
gate a  disputed  boundary  which  had  been  for  many  years 
the  basis  of  an  irritating  controversy  between  Great  Britain 
and  Venezuela.  Incessant  correspondence,  in  which  the 
United  States  had  taken  a  principal  part,  brought  no  conclu- 
sion. Of  the  merits  of  that  prolonged  negotiation  I  shall  not 
speak, — nor  of  its  history,  nor  is  it  possible  to  forecast  the 
decision  which  may  be  given  by  the  court  of  arbitration  and 
adjustment  that  is  soon  to  meet  in  Paris.  My  simple  pur- 
pose is  to  show  the  method  of  enquiry  which  the  commission 
pursued,  as  an  illustration  of  the  value  of  libraries  and  of 
trained  researchers  in  the  prosecution  of  a  governmental 
enquiry. 

To  this  commission,  when  they  first  assembled,  it  was  clear 
that  their  task  involved  an  historico-geographical  enquiry, 
antecedent  and  leading  up  to  an  application  of  public  law 
which  could  only  be  made  when  the  facts  were  ascertained. 
These  legal  aspects  of  the  controversy  were  safely  entrusted, 
and  without  hesitation,  to  three  eminent  jurists  who  were 


200    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

members  of  the  commission,  but  the  development  of  the 
facts  was  prerequisite  to  the  formation  of  an  opinion.  An 
accomplished  secretary  was  ready  to  do  his  part,  and  two 
un>/ersity  presidents,  not  unfamiliar  with  the  methods  of 
historical  and  geographical  research,  aided  their  colleagues 
by  their  experience.  But  where  was  the  material  to  be  found 
from  which  a  summary  of  the  truth  could  be  derived  ?  The 
governments  of  Great  Britain  and  Venezuela  presented  elabo- 
rate memoirs ;  but  they  were  not  exhaustive.  What  discrep- 
ancies could  be  found,  hidden  or  obvious?  What  was  the 
origin  of  certain  conflicting  statements?  Which  of  the  ex- 
isting maps  were  original,  based  upon  actual  survey  or  terri- 
torial visitation,  and  which  were  more  or  less  imperfect 
reproductions  and  adaptations  by  editors  who  were  irre- 
sponsible or  careless?  Libraries  contained  the  answers — 
and  diligent  search  was  instituted  at  once.  To  present  the 
information  thus  to  be  acquired  in  a  shape  that  could  be 
readily  understood,  a  map  of  the  region  involved  must  be 
first  compiled.  An  expert  cartographer  of  the  U.  S.  Geo- 
logical Survey  examined  the  collections  which  were  readily 
found  in  the  Library  of  Congress,  the  State  Department, 
the  Geological  Survey,  and  the  hydrographic  bureau  of  the 
United  States  Navy,  and  at  length  he  produced  what,  with 
many  imperfections,  is  probably  the  best  physical  map  of 
Venezuela  that  has  ever  been  drawn.  It  will  some  day  be 
superseded  by  topographic  surveys,  but  not  for  many  years 
to  come.  This,  however,  was  not  enough.  Everybody 
knew  that  in  Harvard  there  was  an  extraordinary  collection 
of  maps  bought  many  years  ago,  and  that  they  were  in  charge 
of  a  learned  interpreter,  now,  alas,  no  more.  He  was  at 
once  enlisted.  In  the  Lenox  Library  of  New  York,  and  the 
American  Geographical  Society,  other  charts  and  books  were 
discovered.  Then,  to  everyone's  surprise,  word  came  that 
in  Madison,  Wisconsin,  there  was  a  rare  collection  of  Dutch 
authorities,  which  must  be  examined.  For  the  handling  of 


BOOKS   AND   POLITICS  201 

this  varied  and  comprehensive  material,  an  historian  of  Brown 
University  and  a  linguist  of  Johns  Hopkins  were  called  in. 
Meanwhile,  the  remarkable  abilities  of  an  historical  bibliog- 
rapher at  Cornell  University  were  remembered,  and  he  was 
sent  abroad  to  investigate  in  the  archives  of  Holland,  and 
subsequently  in  those  of  England,  dubious  points,  particularly 
involved  in  the  succession  of  England  to  the  rights  of  Holland 
in  Guiana.  Then  another  interesting  enquiry  arose  respect- 
ing the  progress  of  Roman  Catholic  missionaries  in  the  heart 
of  South  America,  and  through  an  influential  personage 
access  was  gained  to  the  lore  of  missionary  brotherhoods  re- 
porting to  the  Vatican.  From  these  sources,  a  standard 
atlas  showing  the  historical  development  of  a  vast  area  was 
compiled  and  published.  With  it  were  four  volumes  of  text. 
All  this  will  be  presented,  as  impartial  evidence,  to  the  inter- 
national court  which  is  called  upon  to  adjudicate  this  com- 
plex, important  and  wearisome  controversy.  The  Ven- 
ezuelan Government  has  reproduced  as  part  of  their  evi- 
dence for  that  court  very  many  of  the  maps  thus  set  forth. 

You  must  admit  that  this  story  shows  how  useful  the 
libraries  and  professorships  of  this  country  have  been  in  a 
crisis  that  came  very  near  involving  three  countries  in  war. 

!By  these  examples  I  have  been  leading  up  to  the  principal 
theme  of  this  discourse, — the  relation  of  books  to  politics, 
or  in  other  words,  to  the  attitude  appropriate  to  scholars 
in  the  perplexities  which  now  involve  our  countrymen. 

Since  that  anxious  period  in  the  history  of  the  United 
States,  when  the  articles  of  confederation  led  up  to  the 
Constitution,  there  has  been  no  time  when  it  was  so  im- 
portant to  study,  proclaim  and  enforce  the  lessons  of  history. 
Not  only  our  welfare,  but  that  of  unnumbered,  impoverished 
and  half-enlightened  islanders  will  be  affected  by  the  policy 
which  will  soon  be  formulated  by  our  government.  It  may 
help  us  to  appreciate  these  imminent  responsibilities  if  we 
make  a  rapid  survey  of  the  globe  in  this  anxious  hour. 


202    THE   LAUNCHING   OF  A  UNIVERSITY 

Count  the  summer  only,  from  the  time  when  the  sun 
crossed  the  equator  in  his  northward  course  until  he  re- 
turned thereto,  and  is  it  not  the  most  remarkable  summer  of 
American  history  since  the  summer  of  1776,  not  excepting 
that  of  1863?  Take  a  broader  view,  and  will  you  not  admit 
that  in  events  and  consequences  it  is  one  of  the  most  re- 
markable years  of  history  since  the  days  of  Napoleon  ?  Con- 
sider the  chief  events.  The  world  has  been  shocked  by  the 
death  of  an  Empress  at  the  hand  of  an  assassin.  Two  world- 
renowned  statesmen,  who  through  their  long  careers  in  Eng- 
land and  Germany,  wielded  the  powers  that  were  almost 
supreme,  have  joined  the  immortals.  Another,  almost 
equally  eminent  in  the  Chinese  empire,  has  been  deposed 
from  his  high  office,  then  reinstated.  The  Empress  mother 
appears  to  have  assumed  the  prerogatives  of  the  Emperor, 
who  is  said  to  be  incarcerated.  Meanwhile,  through  the 
Celestial  Empire,  the  supremacy  of  European  civilisation  is 
rapidly  advancing.  An  Imperial  University  under  the  lead- 
ership of  a  gifted  American  has  been  inaugurated.  Rail- 
road concessions  have  been  granted  to  foreign  capitalists. 
Russia,  England  and  France  are  on  the  alert,  and,  if  actual 
war  upon  the  Chinese  coasts  or  within  the  borders  has  been 
averted  thus  far,  the  low  rumblings  of  Poseidon,  the  earth- 
shaker,  have  been  heard, — rumblings  of  jealousy  and  rivalry 
not  likely  to  be  suppressed  by  the  doctrine  of  "  spheres  of 
influence  "  in  the  partition  of  China.  The  confinement  of 
a  solitary  prisoner  on  a  dreary  islet  fitly  named  "  The 
Devil's,"  has  led  to  revelations  which  are  shaking  the  stability 
of  the  Republic  of  France  and  have  endangered  its  relations 
to  other  governments.  Germany  and  England  have  come 
to  a  peaceful  adjustment  of  their  respective  claims  upon  the 
Eastern  Coast  of  Africa.  British  arms,  with  unparalleled 
skill, — a  triumph  of  military  science, — have  beaten  the 
Dervishes;  planted  the  cross  of  St.  George  on  Omdurman- 
Khartoum,  where  the  Khalifa's  black  flag  had  been  waving 


BOOKS  AND   POLITICS  203 

since  the  death  of  brave  General  Gordon;  freed  the  upper 
valley  of  the  Nile,  and  opened  thus  a  passage  to  the  lakes 
of  central  Africa,  there  to  meet,  ere  long,  an  opposite  current 
coming  northward  from  the  Cape, — all  this  prognostic  of 
English  supremacy,  in  the  interior  of  the  dark  continent, 
from  the  delta  at  Alexandria  to  the  settlements  of  Cape 
Town.  The  unexpected  appearance  of  the  forces  of  France 
at  Fashoda  has  caused  a  temporary,  perhaps  a  serious,  em- 
barrassment. The  Emperor  of  Russia,  Nicholas  the  pacif- 
icator, successor  of  Alexander  the  liberator,  has  called  for 
a  conference  of  the  European  powers  looking  toward  dis- 
armament, and  the  responses  if  not  conclusive  are  hopeful. 
England  and  America,  without  a  formal  alliance,  have  en- 
gaged in  the  peaceful  settlement  of  such  open  questions  as 
pertain  to  the  continent  of  North  America.  More  than  this, 
mother  and  daughter  have  been  drawn  more  closely  together 
than  they  ever  have  been  since  the  colonial  tie  was  severed, 
drawn  too  by  sentiments  stronger  than  speeches  or  than 
language,  stronger  than  arms,  stronger  than  treaties, — strong 
in  the  consciousness  of  kin  and  the  equal  inheritance  of  in- 
stitutions and  ideas,  religion  and  law. 

All  this  in  the  old  world;  turn  now  to  the  new.  For 
the  first  time,  in  half  a  century,  the  United  States  has  en- 
gaged in  a  foreign  war, — the  war  of  one  hundred  days. 
Never  have  her  young  men  shown  more  patriotism,  more 
courage,  more  endurance,  more  strength.  A  quarter  of  a 
million  brave  defenders  have  rallied  round  the  flag.  South- 
erners and  Northerners  have  stood  side  by  side  once  more 
together,  brothers  in  arms,  as  they  were  at  Cowpens  and 
Yorktown,  a  blessed  sign  of  complete  reunion.  Sectional 
animosity  has  disappeared.  In  this  vast  army,  mirabile  dictu, 
less  than  three  hundred  men  were  reported  killed  by  sword 
and  ball.  Our  victorious  fleet,  the  white  squadron  of  peace, 
has  demonstrated  not  only  the  supremacy  of  naval  power, 
to  which  Captain  Mahan  had  been  calling  the  attention  of 


204    THE  LAUNCHING  OF  A  UNIVERSITY 

the  world,  but  it  has  also  shown  the  abilities  of  our  country- 
men in  devising,  constructing,  and  handling  these  giants 
of  the  sea,  while  with  consummate  accuracy  the  range  has 
been  determined,  the  guns  sighted,  and  huge  projectiles 
hurled  on  their  destructive  mission.  In  one  memorable 
morning,  the  hands  of  Spain  were  released  from  their  grasp 
upon  the  pearl  of  the  Antilles,  and  soon,  when  the  ashes 
of  Columbus  return  from  Havana  to  Seville,  requiescant  in 
pace,  her  supremacy  will  have  vanished  from  the  lands  that 
Columbus  discovered,  from  a  domain  that  once  extended 
from  the  heart  of  North  America  to  the  heart  of  South 
America  and  over  the  intervening  seas. 

The  bravery  of  our  seamen,  never  questioned  since  the 
days  of  Paul  Jones,  has  been  demonstrated  again  in  the  hand- 
ling of  new  engines  of  battle,  the  floating  forts.  At  the  same 
time,  the  unfailing  and  spontaneous  generosity  and  courtesy 
of  officers  and  seamen,  toward  a  conquered  foe,  in  the 
moment  of  exulting  victory,  has  brought  out  the  world's 
applause.  "  Do  not  cheer,"  said  the  commander  of  a  vessel 
on  which  a  fallen  crew  was  received.  "  They  were  our 
enemies;  we  have  beaten  them,  and  they  are  now  our 
friends."  The  consideration  of  the  Spaniards  for  brave 
Hobson  and  his  men  was  not  forgotten  when  gallant  Cer- 
vera  and  his  colleagues  arrived  upon  our  shores. 

Nor  is  this  all.  In  the  distant  Philippines,  first  the  navy 
alone  of  the  United  States,  then  the  navy  and  army  together, 
achieved  great  victories  and  placed  in  our  possession  the  con- 
trol of  that  great  island  group.  The  Lad  rones  yielded 
without  a  contest.  It  was  one  of  the  humours  of  the  war, 
caught  up  by  a  gifted  story-teller,  that  the  Commandant  of 
Guam  apologised  for  not  returning  the  American  salute  be- 
cause of  the  want  of  proper  ammunition,  and  was  astonished 
to  find  himself  on  the  way  to  Manila  as  a  prisoner  of  war. 

Meanwhile,  Hawaii,  conquered  long  ago  by  the  peaceful 
agencies  of  civilisation,  has  been  annexed  to  the  United 


BOOKS   AND   POLITICS  205 

States,  "  for  better  for  worse,  for  richer  for  poorer,  till 
death  us  do  part."  It  was  a  pathetic  scene  when  the  Stars 
and  Stripes  arose  above  the  government  house  in  Honolulu. 

We  have  had  our  financial  as  well  as  our  military  and 
naval  victories.  The  cry  of  the  silver  dollar,  not  silenced, 
is  muffled.  A  popular  loan  called  out  from  the  people, 
without  the  mediation  of  bankers,  an  offering  seven  times 
as  great  as  the  treasury  wanted. 

It  is  needless  to  recapitulate  the  sequence  of  stirring  deeds 
performed  in  our  united  service,  for  they  have  been  made 
familiar  to  everyone,  in  marvellous  reports,  written  in  the 
din  and  peril  of  the  battle-field,  and  on  the  decks  of  ships 
in  action,  by  brave  and  gifted  writers,  whose  keen  observa- 
tion, accurate  memories,  translucent  style,  and  immediate 
transmission  of  the  news  by  boat  and  wire  have  glorified 
the  profession  of  newspaper  correspondent,  and  enabled  the 
people  to  follow  day  by  day,  almost  hour  by  hour,  the 
stirring  actions  of  our  admirals  and  generals.  Nor  will  I 
name  the  brave  and  gallant  leaders  whom  you  would  be  so 
ready  to  applaud,  nor  recount  the  thrilling  stories  of  those 
private  heroes,  not  named  but  not  forgotten,  who  endured 
hunger  and  thirst,  faced  the  bullet  and  the  shell,  or  were 
prostrated  in  loneliness  and  pain  by  the  more  destructive 
arrows  of  pestilence  and  fever. 

The  part  that  women  took  by  the  agency  of  the  Red 
Cross,  and  by  other  agencies,  in  promoting  the  health  and 
relieving  the  distress  of  those  who  were  serving  their  country, 
can  never  be  forgotten,  nor  be  mentioned  without  awaken- 
ing a  sense  of  the  deepest  gratitude  to  these  followers  of 
Florence  Nightingale. 

We  are  now  involved  in  the  less  exciting,  but  not  less 
important,  problems  of  peace.  Able  commissioners  are  en- 
gaged in  Paris  in  the  definition  of  the  Spanish-American 
protocol.  At  home,  investigations  respecting  the  conduct  of 
the  war  are  in  progress,  and  especially  respecting  the  san- 


206    THE  LAUNCHING  OF  A   UNIVERSITY 

itary  care  of  the  army;  the  settlement  of  conflicting  claims 
and  the  bestowal  of  well-earned  laurels  likewise  exact  at- 
tention; but  above  these  problems,  important  as  they  are, 
there  rises  one  transcendent  question,  a  question  without 
a  precedent,  involved  in  detail,  world-wide  in  its  sig- 
nificance. You  anticipate  my  meaning.  The  great  problem 
that  is  now  before  the  country  is  not  the  relation  of  Admiral 
to  Admiral,  of  General  to  General,  or  Secretary  to  sub- 
ordinates; nor  is  it  the  merit  or  demerit  of  congressional 
action  in  the  declaration  of  war ;  nor  is  it  the  possibility  that 
Cuba  might  have  been  released  from  Spanish  control  by  a 
continuance  of  the  President's  diplomacy,  which  at  one  time 
was  so  hopeful.  Such  enquiries  may  be  relegated  to  history. 
But  the  question  of  to-day,  the  question  of  the  decade,  it 
may  be  the  question  of  the  twentieth  century,  is  the  attitude 
of  the  United  States  toward  the  islands  of  the  sea,  de  insults 
nuper  rupertis.  This  is  a  question  for  universities  and  uni- 
versity men  to  illuminate  by  the  experience  of  mankind. 
Unquestionably  the  President  and  Congress,  upon  whom 
the  ultimate  responsibility  will  rest,  will  give  to  the  problem 
the  full  consideration  which  it  demands,  but  it  is  quite  possi- 
ble that  their  conclusions  may  be  influenced  by  studies  pur- 
sued in  the  libraries  of  Princeton  and  other  learned  insti- 
tutions, and  by  publications  set  forth  by  their  printing 
presses.  Public  opinion  is  forming.  Speeches,  pamphlets, 
resolutions,  political  platforms,  magazine  articles  and  books 
are  following  each  other  in  quick  succession.  A  bishop  on 
the  one  side  is  answered  by  a  bishop  on  the  other;  a  scholar, 
by  a  senator;  party  utterances  are  confounded;  the  discreet 
are  careful  what  they  say  while  the  indiscreet  pronounce  off- 
hand what  the  country  ought  to  do. 

In  considering  the  task  of  the  United  States,  let  us  be 
reminded  that  in  the  evolution  of  this  period  of  modern 
history,  the  underlying  fact  is  this, — the  nations  claiming  to 
be  civilised  are  engaged  in  the  subjugation  of  those  that  are 


BOOKS   AND    POLITICS  207 

not.  It  is  almost  equally  important  to  remember  that  the 
revolutions  now  in  progress,  peaceful  and  war-ful,  are  due 
to  many  co-operating  forces,  four  of  which  are  noteworthy: 
— the  rapidity  of  communication  by  electricity  and  steam, 
annihilators  of  space  and  time;  the  growth  of  manufactures 
and  commerce  demanding  new  markets;  the  improvement 
of  munitions  and  armaments,  especially  those  of  naval  war- 
fare; and  finally  the  increase  of  education  ami  enterprise, 
arising  from  the  growth  of  science,  and  an  eagerness  to  sub- 
due the  earth. 

It  would  be  instructive  to  review  the  progress  of  con- 
tinental empire  during  the  nineteenth  century  in  North 
America,  Africa,  and  Asia,  but  it  is  Oceana  with  which  we 
are  chiefly  concerned.  Think  of  the  achievements  of  less 
than  a  century.  England  has  created  great  states  in  Aus- 
tralia; New  Zealand  in  less  than  sixty  years  has  abandoned 
barbarism  for  civilisation;  the  Fijis,  in  the  same  period,  have 
become  Christianised,  and  the  seat  of  England's  power  in 
the  Pacific;  Tahiti  is  French;  Samoa  is  under  the  joint  pro- 
tectorate of  Germany,  England,  and  the  United  States, 
where  Pago-Pago  will  soon  be  our  harbour  of  refuge;  the 
Hawaiis  are  now  an  American  territory;  the  Ladrones  are 
held,  at  least  for  the  present,  by  right  of  conquest,  and  the 
Philippines  are  in  chancery. 

In  this  period  of  changes  it  is  clear  that  the  United  States, 
because  of  its  geographical  position,  must  of  necessity  be  a 
mediator  between  Europe  and  Asia,  if  it  be  only  as  a  carrier 
of  methods,  merchandise,  and  men. 

Not  long  ago,  upon  this  campus,  there  lived  and  walked 
one  of  the  broadest  and  most  thoughtful  of  scientific  phil- 
osophers. He  printed  but  little,  or  he  would  be  better 
known,  but  that  little  made  a  deep  impression  upon  his  gen- 
eration. Surely  in  this  place,  his  persuasive  voice,  calm 
spirit,  great  learning,  accurate  knowledge  of  Earth  and  Man 
are  held  in  such  honour  that  his  words,  which  sound  like 


2o8    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

the  voice  of  a  Hebrew  prophet,  may  be  fitly  recalled.  He 
taught  us,  I  remember,  as  Humboldt  and  Ritter  had  taught 
him,  that  every  portion  of  the  globe  is  fitted  for  the  service 
of  the  human  race,  as  the  body  is  the  temple  of  the  soul.  He 
reviewed  the  progress  of  civilisation  in  America,  Asia  and 
Europe.  He  looked  forward  to  the  approaching  conquest 
of  the  Ocean,  and  to  the  opening  of  Eastern  Asia.  "  Yes, 
gentlemen,"  he  said  before  the  Lowell  Institute,  in  1849,  in 
a  lecture  on  the  People  of  the  Future,  "  a  new  work  is  pre- 
paring, and  a  grave  question  is  propounded.  To  what  peo- 
ple shall  it  belong  to  carry  out  this  work  into  reality?  The 
law  of  history  replies,  To  a  new  people.  And  to  what 
continent?  The  geographical  march  of  civilisation  tells  us, 
to  a  new  continent,  west  of  the  Old  World, — to  America." 
And  again :  "  The  oceanic  position  of  the  American  con- 
tinent secures  its  commercial  prosperity  and  creates  at  the 
same  time  the  means  of  influence  upon  the  world.  America 
is  so  placed  as  to  take  an  active  part  in  the  great  work  of 
the  civilisation  of  the  world.  In  what  measure  and  through 
what  perils  it  shall  be  given  to  mankind  and  to  America  in 
particular  to  attain  the  goal  is  known  to  God  alone."  These 
were  the  words  of  Arnold  Guyot. 

I  do  not  purpose,  on  this  academic  occasion,  to  discuss 
a  question  upon  which  wise  men  are  widely  divided,  eager 
as  I  am  for  the  opportunity  to  do  so.  Such  prudent  reserve 
is  justified  by  the  fact  that  a  board  of  ten  commissioners  is 
now  in  Paris  engaged  in  determining  the  conditions  of  peace ; 
the  additional  fact  that  Congress  has  had  no  opportunity 
for  debate  upon  the  conduct  and  results  of  the  war;  and  the 
third  fact  that  the  President,  in  whose  wisdom  and  patriotism 
the  country  places  the  utmost  confidence,  has  given  no  public 
sign,  with  all  possible  information  at  his  command,  of  the 
attitude  which  the  administration  will  take  in  respect  to 
our  new  relations.  This  extraordinary  uncertainty  brings 
to  mind  a  celebrated  chapter  in  Montesquieu's  "  Spirit  of 


BOOKS   AND   POLITICS  209 

the  Laws."  In  that  famous  treatise,  (to  which  the  present 
generation  might  well  turn  for  guidance,  as  their  fathers 
did  at  the  beginning  of  our  constitutional  history),  a  work 
where  one  hardly  expects  a  laugh,  every  word  of  the  fifteenth 
chapter  of  book  eighth  is  as  follows:  (Caption.)  Sure 
methods  of  preserving  the  three  principles.  (Text.)  /  shall 
not  be  able  to  make  myself  rightly  understood,  till  the  reader 
has  perused  the  four  following  chapters.  So  Americans 
must  await  the  following  chapters  of  their  history  before 
they  can  understand  the  one  through  which  they  are  passing. 

I  am  not  an  "  imperialist,"  an  "  expansionist,"  nor  a 
"  jingo."  I  belong  to  a  class  of  citizens,  represented,  no 
doubt,  by  many  in  this  assembly,  who  dread  revolution,  trust 
experience,  and  are  established  by  inheritance,  training  and 
reflection  in  the  belief  that  the  freedom  of  this  country  from 
foreign  entanglements  has  secured  its  peace  and  plenty,  and 
is  the  basis  of  its  hope  and  faith.  I  say  now,  as  I  said  in 
June,  that  it  is  safer  to  walk  in  the  footsteps  of  the  fathers 
than  to  enter  upon  the  dark  and  hidden  paths  of  the  forest, 
which  lead  we  know  not  where. 

Nevertheless,  is  it  not  apparent  that  the  events  of  1898, 
following  in  quick  succession,  like  the  bombs  from  the  turret 
of  a  battleship,  have  changed  the  outlook?  If  public  opin- 
ion, manifest  by  the  newspapers,  expressed  by  speeches, 
pamphlets  and  resolutions,  and  presently  to  be  formulated 
by  Congress,  demands  that  our  acquisitions  remain  our 
possessions,  the  Americans  have  reached  the  most  serious 
difficulty  in  government  that  has  arisen  since  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States  was  adopted, — reconstruction,  per- 
haps, excepted,  though  of  this  I  am  not  sure.  Such  a  state 
of  affairs  was  not  foretold  by  optimistic  or  by  pessimistic 
prophecy.  The  political  results,  as  distinguished  from  the 
military  and  naval,  have  been  adverse  to  the  wishes,  argu- 
ments and  anticipations  of  conservative  men.  But  here  we 
are,  in  circumstances  unforeseen  when  the  Constitution  was 


210    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

adopted,  when  the  farewell  address  was  written,  or  when 
the  Monroe  doctrine  was  announced,  or  even  at  the  decla- 
ration of  war  with  Spain. 

Whatever  we  may  think  of  the  annexation  of  Hawaii,  or 
of  the  value  of  Porto  Rico,  or  of  the  wisdom  of  the  recent 
war,  or  of  its  necessity,  or  of  the  terms  of  the  protocol,  or 
of  the  perplexities  in  which  this  country  is  involved,  here 
we  are,  face  to  face  with  new  problems,  new  responsibilities, 
new  opportunities.  They  are  not  ghosts  and  spectres  which 
will  vanish  as  we  approach  them,  they  are  giants  tough  and 
grim,  armed  with  clubs,  and  full  of  deceit, — with  which  we 
shall  have  many  a  rude  encounter  before  we  prevail. 

Here  we  are. 

Emerson,  in  his  Essay  on  "  Race,"  says  of  the  English 
that  they  derive  their  pedigree  from  such  a  range  of  nation- 
alities that  there  needs  sea-room  and  land-room  to  unfold 
the  varieties  of  talent  and  character;  but  he  quickly  pro- 
ceeds to  tell  this  story:  "Charlemagne,  halting  one  day  in 
a  town  of  Narbonnese  Gaul,  looked  out  of  a  window  and 
saw  a  fleet  of  Northmen  cruising  in  the  Mediterranean. 
They  even  entered  the  port  of  the  town  where  he  was, 
causing  no  small  alarm  by  the  sudden  manning  and  arming 
of  his  galleys.  As  they  put  out  to  sea  again,  the  Emperor 
gazed  long  after  them,  his  eyes  bathed  in  tears.  *  I  am  tor- 
mented with  sorrow,'  he  said,  '  when  I  foresee  the  evils  they 
will  bring  on  my  posterity.'  "  "  There  was  reason,"  adds 
Emerson,  "  for  these  Xerxes  tears."  So  it  is  with  every 
thoughtful  American  with  whom  I  have  conversed.  We 
foresee  the  evils  that  posterity  will  suffer  from  the  events 
of  1898. 

For  this  state  of  affairs  we  are  wholly  unprepared.  If 
it  is  true,  as  a  member  of  the  Cabinet  has  said,  that  war 
came  like  a  flash  of  lightning  out  of  a  clear  sky,  and  as  the 
President  afterwards  affirmed,  that  "  the  storm  broke  so 
suddenly  that  it  was  here  almost  before  we  realised  it,"  it  is 


BOOKS   AND   POLITICS  211 

equally  true  that  the  nation  is  not  ready  for  the  new  problems 
of  civil  government  upon  which  it  is  entering.  Reduce  these 
problems  to  their  lowest  terms.  Near  by,  Cuba,  freed 
from  the  sovereignty  of  Spain,  is  ours  for  the  moment  by 
conquest,  and  yet  it  is  not  ready  for  self-government, 
nor  will  it  be  for  a  long  time  to  come.  Porto  Rico 
and  other  Spanish  islands  are  ours  by  the  terms  of  the 
protocol,  and  are  equally  unprepared  for  republican  suffrage. 
In  the  Pacific,  Hawaii  is  ours  by  annexation;  an  island  in 
the  Lad  rones  is  guaranteed  to  us  by  the  protocpl ;  we  are  in 
possession  of  the  harbour,  bay  and  city  of  Manila;  and  with 
Germany  and  England  we  are  joint  protectors  of  Samoa, 
where  Pago-Pago  is  already  a  naval  rendezvous.  Nor 
should  we  forget  that  if  none  of  these  acquisitions  had  been 
made,  our  influence  in  the  Pacific  would  still  be  very  great. 
Our  merchants,  missionaries,  travellers,  men  of  letters, 
artists,  scientists,  are  bound  to  traverse  Oceana.  American 
influence  is  sure  to  be  felt  in  Australasia  and  Eastern  Asia. 
We  once  made  a  call  upon  Japan  and  behold  the  results. 

From  this  influence  there  is  no  escape.  The  question  is 
how  best  to  use  the  advantages  of  our  position  for  the  good 
of  mankind.  The  Chinese  policy  is  to  remain  shut  up  within 
a  wall,  repel  all  assault,  and  refrain  from  interference  with 
the  affairs  of  other  people.  Shall  the  Americans,  abandoning 
the  opportunities  that  have  been  placed  in  their  hands,  main- 
tain a  similar  seclusion  and  be  contented  with  coaling  sta- 
tions; or  shall  they  establish  themselves  as  a  civilising  force 
in  the  Pacific? 

I  purposely  refrain  from  dwelling  upon  our  commercial 
relations,  but  they  must  not  be  passed  by  with  a  contemptuous 
remark  about  pecuniary  greed.  It  is  right  to  condemn 
cupidity  and  avarice;  yet  the  free  and  enlarged  exchange  of 
the  products  of  one  clime,  or  one  State,  for  those  of  another, 
is  among  the  highest  achievements  of  civilisation.  Commerce 
has  been  the  making  of  England  as  truly  as  it  was  the  mak- 


2i2    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

ing  of  Phoenicia.  International  trade  is  the  business  of  the 
United  States  by  which  our  own  welfare  and  the  welfare 
of  all  people  with  whom  we  have  to  deal  are  promoted.  Let 
commerce  be  stopped,  and  all  the  mechanism  of  modern 
society  is  brought  to  silence. 

From  this  broad  survey  I  return  to  this  peaceful  campus, 
and  enquire:  What  is  the  duty  of  American  students  in 
this  new  state  of  affairs?  That  is  the  question  for  us  to 
consider.  We  are  not  members  of  the  Cabinet,  nor  of  Con- 
gress; we  are  not  Peace  Commissioners;  we  are  only  a  com- 
pany of  students  and  teachers.  What  is  our  duty?  My 
answer  is  a  very  simple  one.  Let  David  get  ready  to  meet 
the  Philistine.  Let  him  gather  the  pebbles  for  his  sling. 
Go  to  your  books,  young  men,  and  study  geography  and 
history.  Resort  to  the  Library  by  whose  reorganisation  you 
are  now  enriched.  Begin  the  study  of  Oceana,  its  vast 
extent,  its  marvellous  attractions,  its  extraordinary  people, 
its  primitive  customs,  its  amazing  institutions,  its  adaptation 
to  civilisation.  With  your  geography,  do  not  fail  to  read 
political  history.  Trace  the  steps  which  great  nations  have 
taken  in  dealing  with  primitive  people.  Weigh  the  con- 
sequences of  conquest,  bigotry,  falsehood,  greed  and  lust. 
Weigh  also  the  benefits  of  consideration,  honesty,  education, 
justice,  religion,  and  law.  Follow  the  slow  and  devious 
ways  by  which  the  principles  of  civil  and  religious  liberty, 
which  we  hold  dear,  have  been  evolved,  and  derive  if  you 
can  the  laws  by  which  a  like  evolution  may  be  secured  among 
other  people.  Remember  that  the  most  enlightened  nations 
are  not  yet  perfect  in  governing  themselves,  and  are  very 
inexpert  in  governing  others. 

Four  centuries  of  experience  in  the  transmission  ol 
modern  civilisation  are  now  of  record.  Spain  has  given  the 
world  an  object-lesson  which  has  reached  its  last  chapter, 
and  Spain  has  shown  what  miserable  result  may  follow  from 
bad  laws,  bad  customs,  and  bad  institutions.  The  states 


BOOKS   AND   POLITICS  213 

of  Central  and  South  America  are  the  examples  of  her  best 
influence;  Cuba  and  the  Philippines  of  her  worst.  Portu- 
gal, once  enterprising,  has  her  lessons  in  decadence.  The 
Dutch  have  tried  their  hand  in  the  maintenance  of  distant 
colonies;  and  Java  tells  the  tale.  France  has  her  manifold 
possessions  in  the  Orient,  and  if  Tahiti  is  not  a  fair  illustra- 
tion of  her  influence,  look  at  Algiers,  Tonquin  and  Mada- 
gascar. England  is  pre-eminent  in  colonial  supremacy.  Her 
ability  in  governing  a  distant  empire,  especially  as  shown  in 
South  Africa,  in  Egypt,  and  in  India  during  recent  years, 
is  wonderful.  Russia,  France,  and  England,  to  say  nothing 
of  Germany  and  Japan,  now  have  their  hands  upon  China, 
and  no  one  can  predict  when  an  Eastern  war  will  be  de- 
clared, or  what  will  be  the  issue. 

In  respect  to  island  life,  the  records  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury are  especially  full  of  important  and  appropriate  lessons. 
For  example,  see  how  the  convict  station  of  Botany  Bay  on 
the  confines  of  a  small  continent,  inhabited  by  cannibals,  has 
expanded  into  a  group  of  prosperous  states.  Read  the  story 
of  the  American  Exploring  Expedition,  under  Wilkes,  who 
happened  to  be  in  New  Zealand  when  Great  Britain  took 
hold  of  the  islands  in  1840,  and  went  away  recording  in 
his  narrative,  "  There  is  nothing  here  to  interest  us  " ;  and 
then  turn  to  the  newspapers  and  books  of  700,000  Europeans 
established  in  the  double  island,  with  churches,  schools, 
banks,  agriculture  and  commerce.  Follow  the  Hawaiians, 
from  the  murder  of  Captain  Cook  to  the  acceptance  of 
American  sovereignty, — a  history  of  missions,  education, 
science,  agriculture  and  trade.  The  geographical  literature 
of  Polynesia  or  Oceana  is  rich,  and  the  pages  of  Phillips, 
Mariner,  the  two  Danas,  Froude,  and  Stevenson,  and  a 
hundred  other  writers,  are  like  the  chapters  of  a  romance 
or  the  scenes  of  a  great  drama;  while  the  series  of  voyages 
from  Cook  to  the  Challenger  are  rich  in  the  facts  of  ethnog- 
raphy and  geography.  Study  the  West  Indies,  and  con- 


2i4    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

trast  the  beneficent  life  of  Jamaica  and  the  Bermudas  with 
the  dire  stories  of  Hayti  and  San  Domingo,  Porto  Rico  and 
Cuba. 

It  does  not  follow  that  if  distant  islands  come  under  the 
dominion  of  the  United  States,  the  inhabitants  of  these 
islands  are  at  once  to  be  admitted  to  the  privileges  of  self- 
government.  The  process  of  training  must  be  gradual  and 
will  probably  be  long.  Doubtless,  in  each  case,  the  pro- 
cedure will  differ  from  that  of  every  other  case,  and  diffi- 
culties, various  and  complex,  will  be  presented ;  but  certainly 
modern  civilisation  is  adequate  to  the  task  of  perpetuating 
and  extending  its  influence  among  the  islands  of  Oceana,  by 
introducing  the  fundamental  principles  of  political  well- 
being.  The  principle  that  government  depends  upon  the  will 
of  the  governed  is  not  of  universal  application.  There  are 
constant  conditions  in  which  authority  must  be  exercised 
over  those  who  are  incapable  of  governing  themselves.  It 
is  as  true  of  nations  as  it  is  of  individuals  that  they  must 
learn  the  art  of  self-government.  Democratic  institutions 
may  be  partial  and  gradual  as  well  as  complete. 

To  discuss  elaborately  these  questions  is  an  appropriate 
task  for  the  universities  of  this  land.  They  have  the  histor- 
ical and  geographical  archives;  they  have  trained  investi- 
gators; they  know  the  principles  of  human  progress;  they 
have  the  knowledge  of  constitutional  law  and  historic  juris- 
prudence. They  are  non-partisan.  They  have  scores  and 
hundreds  of  skilful  coadjutors  whose  services  can  be  en- 
listed. What  a  service  they  might  render  by  combining  their 
forces  and  distributing  their  tasks,  to  teach  the  world,  in 
the  light  of  history,  how  it  is  that  great  nations  have  failed 
in  the  business  of  advancing  civilisation  and  how  other  great 
nations  have  succeeded;  what  constitutes  a  legitimate  and 
humane  exercise  of  superior  force,  and  what  is  base  or 
disastrous.  A  word  from  the  President  or  a  request  from 
the  Secretary  of  State  would  set  the  universities  at  work.  It 


BOOKS   AND   POLITICS  215 

would  be  better  still,  if  Congress  would  authorise  the  ap- 
pointment of  a  commission  to  be  made  up  of  the  most  learned, 
the  most  wise,  the  most  experienced  statesmen  of  the  land, 
not  now  holding  public  office,  and  charge  them  to  investigate 
for  years  to  come,  these  problems.  History,  said  Freeman, 
is  past  politics,  and  politics  present  history.  What  nobler 
work  could  a  civilised  nation  undertake  than  to  study  its 
present  in  the  light  of  the  past,  calmly,  leisurely,  and  under 
conditions  which  ensure  wise  conclusions,  full  of  instruction 
for  mankind.  A  commission,  made  up  of  jurists,  students 
of  international  law,  economists  and  historians,  could  bring 
together,  arrange,  digest,  and  make  known  the  conditions 
of  success  and  the  conditions  of  failure,  and  thus  prepare 
the  way  for  such  legislation  or  for  such  Constitutional 
amendments  as  will  enable  the  government  of  the  United 
States  to  administer  for  the  good  of  humanity  its  new  re- 
sponsibilities in  the  islands  of  the  sea. 

I  am  well  aware  that  there  are  many  of  our  best  coun- 
sellors who  dread  to  have  our  countrymen  entertain  these 
questions.  We  are  "  too  corrupt,"  they  say.  "  If  we  can- 
not govern  Manhattan  why  undertake  Manila?  "  If  we 
are  embarrassed  by  eight  millions  of  Africans,  speaking  our 
language,  voting  for  our  rulers,  and  fighting  with  our  armies, 
what  can  we  do  with  eight  millions  of  Malays,  to  say 
nothing  of  half-breeds?  But  I  have  confidence  that  if  in 
the  progress  of  events  these  responsibilities  are  imposed  upon 
us,  we  shall  rise  to  the  opportunities.  I  appeal  to  English 
history.  How  short  a  time  it  is  since  seats  in  Parliament 
were  bought;  since  commissions  in  the  army  were  openly 
purchased;  since  the  only  civil  service  was  favouritism  and 
"  pull."  See  what  a  century  of  increasing  responsibility  has 
brought  upon  Englishmen.  We  are  of  their  stock.  I  appeal 
to  human  nature.  How  readily  trustworthiness  is  fostered 
by  responsibility. 

In  the  latest  history  of  John  Fiske's  you  may  read  that 


216    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

at  the  end  of  the  last  century  it  was  claimed  that,  "  in  the 
mournful  chorus  of  disparagement  "  evoked  by  the  discovery 
of  America,  "  the  one  cheery  note  "  was  the  introduction  of 
quinine.  You  may  also  read  in  the  terse  and  vigorous  phrase 
of  a  century  later  that  the  great  historic  fact,  most  con- 
spicuous among  the  consequences  of  the  discovery  of 
America  is  this,  that  the  colonial  empires  of  England  and 
Holland,  fraught  with  civil  and  religious  liberty,  grew 
directly  from  the  repressive  war  with  Spain.  "  In  the  con- 
flict of  Titans,"  he  says,  "  that  absorbed  the  energies  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  the  question  of  whether  it  would  be  the 
world  of  Shakespeare  or  of  Calderon  that  was  to  gain  in- 
definite power  of  future  expansion  was  a  question  of  incal- 
culable importance  to  mankind." 

Human  progress  is  usually  heralded  by  fire  and  sword, 
hunger  and  thirst;  our  Civil  War  cost  many  hundred  thou- 
sand lives ;  the  War  of  Independence  was  a  seven  years'  war, 
and  the  cup  of  separation  was  full  of  bitter  herbs;  the 
colonisation  of  the  New  World  by  England  required  a 
century  of  privation  and  poverty;  and  so  I  might  go  on,  but 
there  is  no  need  to  do  so.  History  warns  us  that  in  our 
new  career  we  may  anticipate  perplexities,  embarrassments, 
blunders,  a  neglect  of  the  principles  of  efficient  civil  service, 
the  rivalries  of  churches,  the  wasteful  and  perhaps  the  fraud- 
ulent expenditure  of  vast  sums  of  money,  and  attempts  to 
engraft  the  system  of  spoils  on  the  unsophisticated  and  un- 
wary. I  dread  the  conflict.  Nevertheless,  I  believe  that 
the  American  people,  through  their  errors,  perplexities  and 
sins,  will  rise  to  the  situation  before  them,  and  will  succeed 
in  carrying  to  distant  lands  the  benefits  of  liberty,  order  and 
law;  and  I  believe  that  the  young  men  of  our  universities, 
to  whom  the  great  storehouses  of  human  experience  are  open, 
while  they  point  out  in  the  history  of  Alexander,  and  Caesar, 
and  Charlemagne,  and  Napoleon,  the  dangers  of  imperial 
magnitude,  will  also  show  us  how  in  the  twentieth  century 


BOOKS   AND   POLITICS  217 

these  dangers  may  be  to  a  great  extent  averted,  and  human 
happiness  be  advanced  by  spreading  through  the  world  the 
principles  of  Anglo-American  liberties. 

Fathers  and  brethren,  let  us  not  forget  the  words  of 
Emerson,  "  The  scholar  is  the  man  of  the  Ages."  Let 
us  not  shrink  from  the  responsibilities,  whatever  they  may 
be,  that  Providence  puts  upon  us;  but  with  the  courage  that 
inspired  our  young  men  last  spring  as  they  left  the  farm, 
the  shop,  and  the  counting-room,  the  college  and  the  uni- 
versity, the  bar  and  the  pulpit,  when  the  government  called 
for  support,  let  us  volunteer  for  the  longer,  harder,  more 
intricate  contests  that  are  coming,  contests  not  of  muscle, 
but  of  brains.  Let  the  libraries  be  our  armouries  where  we 
may  be  equipped.  Let  us  be  taught  by  the  experience  of 
England,  of  China,  and  of  Spain.  Let  the  reproach  never 
rest  again  upon  the  educated  young  men  of  America  that 
they  do  not  participate  in  political  action.  Let  them  be 
leaders  in  the  battles  of  the  future,  whether  they  command 
the  squadron  or  carry  to  the  guns  the  powder  and  ball.  Let 
them  not  forget  that  the  measure  of  history  is  not  a  day 
or  a  month  or  a  year  or  a  decade,  but  a  century.  The 
measuring-rod  of  a  hundred  years  is  the  smallest  gauge 
by  which  men  mark  the  progress  of  great  events.  To  the 
supreme  intelligence,  a  thousand  years  are  but  as  yes- 
terday. 

Be  it  forever  remembered  that  we  are  the  heirs  of  great 
possessions  that  we  may  not  keep  to  ourselves.  This  is  an 
inventory  of  our  rich  inheritance: 

1.  The  good  tidings  of  Christianity,  destined  to  pervade 
the  earth  with  its  pure  and  simple  morality. 

2.  Civil  and  ecclesiastical  liberty,  secured  by  many  con- 
tests, from  Magna  Charta  down. 

3.  International   law,   propounded   by   great  jurists  and 
accepted  by  great  states. 

4.  Freedom  of  commercial  intercourse  by  which  the  prod- 


218    THE   LAUNCHING   OF  A   UNIVERSITY 

ucts  of  nature  and  of  industry  are  exchanged  for  the  mutual 
benefit  of  the  producers,  with  the  least  restriction  possible. 

5.  The  purity  and   happiness  of  domestic  life,  an  idea 
almost  unknown  to  savage  and  half-civilised  men. 

6.  The  value  of  general  education,  with  a  growing  appre- 
ciation of  history  and  literature. 

7.  An  increasing  and  beneficent  harvest  of  scientific  in- 
vestigations, by  which  happiness  is  promoted,  life  prolonged, 
pain  destroyed,  and  time  and  space  are  overcome. 

It  is  highly  probable  that  the  young  men  of  this  uni- 
versity will  soon  be  personally  involved  in  the  perplexities 
that  have  arisen  from  this  war  of  one  hundred  days.  They 
are  likely  to  be  engaged,  in  one  capacity  or  another,  in 
relations  with  distant  and  unenlightened  islanders.  At 
least,  as  citizens  of  this  republic  they  will  be  concerned  in 
the  adjustment  of  American  institutions  to  circumstances  and 
people  for  whom  they  were  never  designed.  For  these  new 
responsibilities  they  should  be  prepared  by  an  acquaintance 
not  only  with  geographical,  ethnographical,  and  historical 
facts,  but  with  the  principles  of  economics,  of  administration, 
and  especially  of  public  and  constitutional  law.  I  urge  them 
to  make  ready  for  the  duties  of  the  Christian  citizen  in  the 
twentieth  century, — to  prepare  for  foreign  affairs  by  the 
promotion  at  home  of  sound  finance,  pure  religion,  and 
political  education. 

The  methods  of  modern  England,  not  Spain's,  should  be 
an  example  if  it  be  true,  as  Mr.  Benjamin  Kidd  in  an  im- 
pressive paragraph  has  declared,  that  England's  success  in 
India  is  due  to  the  influence  of  her  universities.  "  In  other 
words,"  he  says,  "  it  is  the  best  and  most  distinctive  product 
which  England  can  give,  the  higher  ideals  and  standards 
of  her  universities,  which  is  made  to  feed  the  inner  life  from 
which  the  British  administration  of  India  proceeds." 
"  Progress  upwards,"  he  continues,  "  must  be  a  long,  slow 
process,  must  proceed  on  native  lines,  and  must  be  the  effect 


BOOKS   AND   POLITICS  219 

of  the  example  and  prestige  of  higher  standards  rather  than 
the  result  of  ruder  methods.  It  is  on  a  like  principle  that 
the  development  of  the  tropical  region  occupied  must  be  held 
to  be  the  fulfilment  of  a  trust  undertaken  in  the  name  of 
civilisation." 

You  are  the  heirs,  Princetonians,  of  illustrious  names, 
none  so  illustrious  as  that  of  James  Madison,  whose  con- 
stitutional services  are  acknowledged  of  transcendent  im- 
portance. Be  his  pupils  as  you  are  his  followers. 


CALIFORNIA  REVISITED 

An  Address  Delivered  in  Berkeley,  October  25, 

1899,  at  the  Inauguration  of  President 

Wheeler 


Professor  Benjamin  I.  Wheeler  was  chosen  Presi- 
dent of  the  University  of  California  in  1899,  and  in 
the  name  of  the  Trustees  he  invited  me  to  be  present 
at  his  inauguration,  which  occurred  twenty-seven  years 
after  I  had  been  placed  in  the  same  position.  On  the 
beautiful  campus  at  Berkeley,  thousands  of  persons  were 
assembled,  and  in  the  open  air,  toward  the  end  of  the 
afternoon  they  listened  to  the  following  remarks. 


XIII 

THE  INAUGURATION  OF  PRESIDENT  WHEELER  AT  BERKELEY, 
OCTOBER,   25,    l899 

Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Board  of  Regents  and 

Faculty;  Ladies  and  Gentlemen: 

It  is  a  great  delight  to  stand  once  more  before  an  as- 
semblage of  large-hearted  and  large-minded  Californians, 
and,  if  I  should  tell  you  of  the  emotions  that  are  awakened 
at  this  moment,  before  I  could  close,  the  sun  would  not  only 
disappear  beyond  yon  grove  of  eucalyptus,  but  would  sink 
into  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

When  the  distinguished  scholar,  whom  we  now  salute 
as  President  of  this  great  University,  invited  me,  in  the 
name  of  the  Board  of  Regents,  to  return  to  Berkeley,  the 
home  of  my  early  manhood,  and  to  stand  upon  this  platform, 
I  asked  him  what  sort  of  a  speech  would  be  expected,  and 
he  replied :  "  Tell  them  your  own  experiences  after  leaving 
California."  I  shall  obey  him,  for  he  is  in  the  seat  of 
authority  and  entitled  to  the  loyal  response  of  every  friend 
upon  whom  he  may  call  for  support  and  counsel.  But 
before  I  go  forward  to  the  principal  part  of  my  remarks, 
let  us  pause  for  a  moment  to  consider  what  this  occasion 
means. 

Every  one  of  us,  without  doubt,  is  filled  with  curious 
anticipation  respecting  the  new  epoch.  The  students  eager 
for  knowledge  and  just  awakening  with  the  enthusiasm  of 
youth  to  the  charms  of  science  and  literature;  the  parents 
and  friends  who  stand  by,  ready  to  make  any  sacrifice  for 
the  education  of  those  who  are  dear  to  them;  the  devoted 


224    THE   LAUNCHING  OF  A  UNIVERSITY 

teachers  whose  lives  are  consecrated  to  the  development  of 
the  intellectual  and  moral  character  of  those  who  are  under 
their  tuition ;  the  generous  givers  of  their  plenty ;  the  Regents, 
alive  to  their  great  responsibility;  and  the  officers  of  the 
State  which  has  so  liberally  dealt  with  its  worthy  offspring, 
— all  whom  I  see  in  this  vast  throng,  are  deeply  concerned 
in  the  issues  of  this  year. 

Look  back  only  half  a  century  and  remember  that  fifty 
years  ago  the  pioneers  of  '49,  many  of  them  college  bred, 
brought  to  this  coast  the  simple  conception  of  a  college  as 
they  had  known  it  in  the  Eastern  States.  Some  of  them 
were  sure  that  the  charm  of  knowledge  was  in  the  past, 
and  that  the  traditional  curriculum  was  the  royal  road  to 
j  knowledge.  Others  were  certain  that  in  "  this  new  world 
j  beyond  the  new  world  "  (as  Charles  Kingsley  called  Cali-' 
fornia  many  years  ago  in  his  speech  on  this  site),  new 
problems  demanded  new  methods  of  solution.  One  of  these 
pioneers,  Henry  Durant  (the  gentlemen  on  the  platform 
will  remember  him)  came,  as  he  said,  "  with  college  on  the 
brain,"  and  he  builded  better  than  he  knew.  Another, 
Frederick  Billings,  came  with  his  eyes  dazzled  by  the  vision 
of  Berkeley  and  his  ears  ringing  with  the  familiar  quatrain 
which  predicts  "  the  course  of  empire,"  and  secured  our 
name.  All  these  and  other  pioneers,  as  they  planned  and 
as  they  delved  and  planted,  were  persuaded  by  the  experience 
of  centuries  (although  they  did  not  always  say  so),  that 
"  wisdom  is  better  than  gold,  yea,  than  much  fine  gold." 

Advance  the  record  five  and  twenty  years  to  1873.  The 
College  of  California,  founded  by  the  men  whom  I  have 
named  and  their  associates,  has  expanded  into  the  University 
of  the  State;  the  restricted  plot  in  Oakland  has  been  ex- 
changed for  these  broad  acres,  looking  out  to  the  Golden 
Gate;  the  grounds  are  consecrated  to  the  higher  education 
with  speeches  from  Governor  Booth  and  Bishop  Kip,  and 
by  the  graduation  of  the  first  of  that  long  file  of  departing 


PRESIDENT   WHEELER  225 

scholars,  never  to  be  concluded,  whose  academic  life  is 
associated  with  Berkeley. 

A  quarter  of  a  century  after  the  exodus,  and  half  a 
century  after  the  creation,  we  are  now  witnesses  of  the 
dawn  of  another  epoch.  It  is  under  these  circumstances, 
that  a  veteran  who  has  bathed  in  the  fountain  of  youth, 
comes  forward  to  congratulate  the  University  of  California 
on  this  auspicious  day,  as  rich  in  memories  and  achievements 
as  it  is  in  promises  and  prospects. 

I  congratulate  you  on  the  succession  of  great  gifts,  which 
have  supplemented  the  appropriations  of  the  State,  and 
upon  the  development  of  great  principles,  which  have  at- 
tracted to  this  place  throngs  of  young  men  and  maidens 
in  the  pursuit  of  a  liberal  education,  while  other  students 
have  been  enabled  to  secure  in  San  Francisco  their  pro- 
fessional training  in  the  legal  and  medical  sciences  and  in 
the  fine  arts. 

With  heartiness  for  which  no  tones  can  be  too  emphatic, 
I  congratulate  you  on  the  far-sighted  munificence  of  that 
generous  woman  whose  hope  it  is  that  the  buildings  of 
this  university  shall  be  worthy  of  its  aims,  and  who  desires 
that  they  shall  not  be  constructed  hap-hazard,  as  in  other 
places  the  usage  has  been,  but  comformable  to  a  plan, 
selected  by  fair  and  well-trained  judges  from  plans  submitted 
to  them  by  accomplished  architects  of  Europe  and  America; 
and  who  has  determined  by  her  own  munificence  to  set  an 
example  that  others  may  emulate.  May  her  purpose  be 
as  fruitful  as  the  gift  of  Devorguila,  early  benefactor  of 
a  great  college  in  Oxford ;  and  her  name  be  held  in  gratitude 
and  admiration  for  centuries  to  come. 

I  congratulate  you  that  you  have  chosen  a  President, 
as  did  the  authorities  of  Leland  Stanford  University,  from 
among  scholars  who  have  breathed  the  inspiring  atmosphere 
of  Cornell  University.  It  is  indeed  propitious  that  these 
two  California  presidents,  President  Wheeler  and  President 


226    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

Jordan,  divergent  in  their  studies,  yet  single  in  their  aims, 
have  drunk  from  the  fountains  of  Ithaca,  which  were  opened 
by  one  whose  love  of  historical  studies  is  paralleled  by  his 
devotion  to  science — that  scholar,  teacher,  statesman,  and 
peace-maker,  now  our  minister  in  Germany,  Honourable 
Andrew  D.  White. 

Few  persons  know,  as  I  do,  what  a  persistent,  sagacious, 
and  sensible  search  the  Regents  have  been  making  for  a 
President.  If  they  were  eager  to  give  an  example  of  original 
investigation,  which  never  rests  until  a  finality  is  reached — 
they  could  not  have  done  better.  But  their  difficulties  did 
not  end  with  their  discovery;  persuasion  was  harder  than  re- 
search. The  leader  of  their  choice  had  received  many  pre- 
vious calls  to  which  his  ear  remained  deaf.  The  ties  of 
intellectual  and  social  friendship,  the  assurance  that  a  pro- 
fessor's chair  is  stable,  while  a  president  is  usually  offered 
that  which  looks  more  comfortable,  but  is  really  shaky — in 
fact  a  rocking-chair;  and  the  consciousness  that  in  an  old 
State  the  traditions  of  higher  education  are  sure  of  recog- 
nition— were  considerations  of  weight.  He  has  wisely  de- 
cided. Greater  opportunities  on  a  broader  field,  the  generous 
support  of  the  authorities,  and  that  large-heartedness  and 
large-mindedness  which  have  ever  been  alluring  character- 
istics of  the  Californians,  have  captured  him;  and  now  with 
one  voice  his  friends  in  the  East,  his  new  friends  in  the 
West,  bid  him  God-speed.  Bind  him  with  bands  of  steel; 
strengthen  his  hands ;  confirm  his  plans ;  listen  to  his  counsel, 
and  soon  you  will  know,  what  you  now  believe,  that  the 
right  man  is  here — suggestive,  strong,  hopeful,  wise,  and  in- 
spiring; ready  to  promote  the  vigour,  the  industries,  the 
wealth,  the  literature,  the  science,  the  arts,  the  politics, 
and  the  religion  of  this  great  State. 

This  is  not  the  sort  of  a  speech,  President  Wheeler,  which 
you  asked  me  to  make.  I  have  indeed  wandered  from  my 
theme.  But  I  could  not  help  it.  Besides,  I  think  that  if 


PRESIDENT   WHEELER  227 

you  are  not  with  me,  the  assembly  is,  and  that  their  hearts 
now  beat  in  unison  a  welcome  to  Berkeley,  to  its  cares 
and  opportunities,  to  its  honours  and  rewards. 

You  asked  me  to  speak  of  my  own  observations  and 
reflections  during  the  period  since  I  left  California.  I  will 
do  so  briefly.  The  growth  of  scientific  laboratories  is  one 
of  the  most  extraordinary  developments  of  the  recent  decades. 
Not  long  ago  chemistry  was  the  only  science  which  had  this 
adjunct.  Now  every  department  which  is  concerned  in 
the  investigation  of  natural  forces  demands,  and  in  strong 
institutions  has  secured,  the  halls  in  which,  the  apparatus 
by  which  laws  may  be  verified,  investigations  carried  on,  and 
students  made  familiar  with  the  processes  and  methods  by 
which  mankind  reveals  the  mysteries  of  nature.  Even 
clinical  medicine  now  calls  for  its  laboratory.  Psychology 
likewise.  Everywhere  students  are  now  taught  to  use  their 
own  eyes  and  their  own  hands.  The  study  of  nature,  by 
experiment  and  by  observation,  has  established  its  place  side 
by  side  with,  sometimes  a  little  in  advance  of,  the  study  of 
mankind.  By  such  studies,  not  often  directly,  but  always 
indirectly,  the  great  achievements  of  mechanical  and  elec- 
trical art  have  been  secured.  The  methods  of  correspondence, 
travel,  and  commerce  have  gone  through  a  revolution.  War- 
fare has  been  changed,  and  the  war-ship  Oregon  and  her 
sisters  have  shown  that  is  is  possible  to  win  great  victories, 
over  seas  and  over  enemies,  without  the  sacrifice  of  the 
victor's  blood.  Among  the  achievements  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  none  is  more  fertile  than  the  introduction  of  instru- 
ments of  precision,  and  the  employment  of  measurements 
mathematically  accurate.  The  American  laboratories,  ob- 
servatories, and  surveys  are  among  the  best  attainments  of 
our  countrymen,  and  justify  the  utterance  of  German  ob- 
servers, that  the  most  important  contributions  of  our 
country  to  the  world  are  the  new  developments  of  univer- 
sity activities. 


228    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

The  expansion  of  our  libraries  and  their  adaptation  to 
the  wants  of  students  have  made  equal  progress  with  the 
multiplication  of  laboratories.  They  have  become  working 
places,  where  the  experience  of  mankind  is  stored  up,  where 
the  latest  publications  of  scholarship  are  received,  where 
youth  are  trained  in  the  methods  of  literary  investigation, 
and  are  introduced  to  "  the  friendship  of  books,"  the  inti- 
mate and  repose-giving,  soul-refreshing,  thought-inspiring 
acquaintance  with  the  noblest  writings  of  every  age  and 
every  clime.  The  time  was  when  the  lecture-room  was  the 
only  channel  for  such  introductions;  now  the  sagacious 
teacher  supplements  his  teaching  by  lessons  in  the  art  of 
reading,  which  is  the  art  of  discarding  the  second  best 
and  choosing  always  the  very  best.  With  this  goes  the  love 
of  history  and  biography,  so  that  we  can  readily  assent  to 
the  recent  utterance  of  an  English  essayist,  that  the  glory 
of  which  no  man  can  deprive  our  poor  dying  s'iecle  is  that 
not  one,  of  all  the  others,  since  history  began,  has  taken 
such  pains  to  understand  the  centuries  previous. 

The  natural  result  of  these  two  movements  is  seen  in 
this,  that  there  is  no  longer,  within  the  range  of  public 
audition,  any  controversy  as  to  the  comparative  value  of 
ancient  and  modern  studies,  no  question  as  to  the  relative 
value  of  science  and  letters.  All  have  honourable  places. 
Consequently  the  one  curriculum  has  gone;  many  roads  are 
leading  to  Rome. 

With  these  changes,  it  is  interesting  to  note  the  clarifi- 
cation of  the  idea  of  the  university.  It  may  include  a  col- 
lege; or  several  colleges;  but  it  is  more  than  a  college, 
more  than  a  group  of  colleges.  It  is  the  highest  expression 
which  any  community  can  give  to  its  intellectual  aspirations ; 
the  most  complex,  diversified,  and  fruit-bearing  organism 
which  any  community  can  devise  for  the  intellectual  or 
moral  welfare  of  its  people.  It  is  a  place  where  the  latest 
science,  the  noblest  literature,  and  the  purest  art  are  em- 


PRESIDENT   WHEELER  229 

ployed  in  the  higher  education  of  well-disciplined  youth. 
To  this  clarification  of  ideas,  an  admirable  contribution  was 
made  by  our  honoured  colleague,  Professor  Joseph  LeConte, 
in  his  essay  on  the  School,  the  College,  and  the  Uni- 
versity. 

The  admission  of  women  to  the  advantage  of  higher 
education  is  another  of  the  remarkable  changes  of  recent 
years.  The  methods  differ.  Sometimes,  usually  in  the 
Western  States,  there  is  unrestricted  co-education.  In  the 
Eastern  States  there  is  partial  co-education,  where  certain 
courses  of  advanced  study  are  open  to  women,  but  the 
tendency  appears  to  be  more  favourable  for  building  up 
separate  colleges  for  women,  often  like  Radcliffe  and  Bar- 
nard, in  connection  with  or  near  to  the  college  for  men, 
but  sometimes  independent  like  Vassar,  Wellesley,  Smith, 
and  Bryn  Mawr.  Each  community  has  its  own  problem  to 
solve;  whatever  the  method,  the  world  is  sure  to  be  the 
better  for  generously  opening  to  women  the  opportunities 
from  which  they  have  been  too  long  excluded. 

The  advancement  of  professional  schools  is  another  re- 
markably promising  movement, — especially  schools  of  law 
and  medicine.  I  call  special  attention  to  the  latter  for  the 
changes  in  the  medical  schools  of  the  East  within  five  years 
past  are  wonderful,  and  will  surely  be  followed  by  this 
University.  Prolonged  courses  of  study,  high  standards  of 
admission,  ample  facilities  for  observation  in  laboratories 
and  clinics,  rigid  terms  of  graduation,  enlarged  freedom  of 
intercourse  with  skilful  teachers  selected  as  the  best  of 
their  profession,  are  among  the  changes  that  are  prolific  in 
good. 

Again,  I  mention  among  the  noteworthy  changes  of  the 
last  few  years,  greater  liberality  on  the  part  of  religious 
leaders  towards  the  methods  of  modern  thought,  less  appre- 
hension, more  generous  sympathy  when  science,  language, 
and  history  speak.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  equally  worthy 


230    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

of  note  that  intellectual  men,  whether  they  be  devoted  to 
letters,  science,  law,  or  education  are  more  and  more  ready 
to  admit,  not  only  to  admit,  but  to  declare,  that  the  things 
which  are  seen  are  temporal,  and  the  things  that  are  un- 
seen are  eternal;  that  beneath  all  forms  of  worship  there  is 
a  true  religion  binding  man  to  his  Creator;  that  the  mys- 
teries of  life  are  just  as  great  as  they  were  in  the  days  of 
Solomon  and  Plato.  Much  more  than  this,  they  believe 
that  the  discoveries  of  microscope  and  telescope,  the  more 
they  are  prosecuted  the  more  they  reveal  a  plan,  and  the 
more  incomprehensible  that  plan  appears  without  the  belief 
in  one  living  and  true  God. 

It  is  delightful  to  hear  an  orthodox  theologian  utter  these 
words  and  to  believe  that  in  the  minds  of  most  naturalists 
they  find  a  loud  echo: 

"  If  a  man  can  understand  the  universe  in  its  long  un- 
folding, it  is  because  the  universe  in  its  long  unfolding 
expresses  the  thoughts  of  a  rational  mind  that  is  akin  to 
the  mind  of  man  that  understands  it.  By  the  doctrine  of 
evolution  the  universe  is  for  the  first  time  consistently 
represented  as  a  universe  of  ideas, — that  is  to  say,  as  an 
expression  of  God.  From  of  old,  Christian  faith  and  doc- 
trine have  declared  it  to  be  so;  but  now  comes  the  doctrine 
of  evolution  to  illustrate  and  confirm  the  declaration,  so 
that  it  cannot  be  denied  again.  To  deny  the  presence  of 
mind  in  the  universe  is  to  be  belated  in  the  world  of  evolu- 
tionary thought.  If  the  common  man  comes  to  a  true  con- 
ception of  the  world  he  lives  in,  he  will  find  the  day  far  past 
when  he  could  question  the  presence  and  activity  of  the 
all-comprehending  mind." 

May  I  conclude  these  remarks  with  three  or  four  sugges- 
tions? I  speak  not  only  to  the  Faculty  and  the  Regents, 
I  speak  to  all  of  you  who  in  any  way  whatever  desire  to  be 
enrolled  as  friends  of  learning ;  and  I  say,  "  Encourage  in- 
vestigation." Help  everybody  who  is  willing  to  engage  in 


PRESIDENT  WHEELER  231 

such  work;  especially  lend  a  hand  in  the  development  of 
the  resources  and  industries  of  the  State. 

Bring  hither  all  the  experience  of  the  human  race  in 
ancient  and  modern  times  that  the  seed  may  be  sifted  out 
and  planted  and  the  chaff  rejected  and  burned.  Establish 
a  great  library.  Cultivate  the  love  of  letters.  As  I  say 
these  words  I  see  the  image  of  a  young  poet,  too  early 
snatched  away,  who  was  once  a  professor  of  literature  in 
this  University,  Edward  R.  Sill.  I  trust  that  his  mantle 
has  fallen  upon  another  poet  here.  I  hope  that  many  men 
and  women  are  to  come  up  and  make  large  the  column, 
already  on  the  march,  of  those  who  have  produced  a  litera- 
ture redolent  with  the  experiences,  the  hopes,  the  beauties, 
and  the  aspirations  of  the  Pacific  Coast. 

Encourage,  particularly  at  this  time,  the  development 
of  the  medical  sciences.  I  doubt  if  anybody  who  has  not 
had  his  attention  called  to  the  recent  progress  of  medicine 
and  surgery  has  any  idea  what  an  epoch  is  opening  before 
us;  what  trained  men  and  women  are  coming  to  the  front; 
what  new  methods  of  observation  and  treatment  have  been 
discovered;  what  light  has  been  thrown  on  the  causes,  the 
prevention,  and  the  cure  of  disease.  It  will  be  a  noble 
purpose  to  extend  and  strengthen  in  every  possible  way  the 
medical  faculty  of  this  University. 

Remember  the  importance  of  politics./  I  am  not  afraid 
to  use  the  word  "politics,"  and ^to, urge  every  young  man 
who  goes  out  of  college  to  "  go  into  politics  " ;  not  in  the 
sense  of  aspiring  to  political  office,  not  in  the  sense  of 
managing  men  in  an  unworthy  way,  but  in  the  sense  of 
devotion  to  the  public  good.  One  of  the  best  signs  of  the 
times  is  the  fact  that  most  of  the  young  men  who  go  out 
from  our  colleges  are  interested  in  public  affairs.  They 
are  on  the  side  of  good  government;  they  believe  in  civil 
service  reform ;  and  they  look  with  hope  and  not  fear  toward 
the  future  of  our  country. 


232    THE   LAUNCHING   OF  A  UNIVERSITY 

Finally,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  face  the  Pacific  Ocean 
and  do  not  be  afraid  of  it.  I  was  startled  a  few  moments 
ago  when  the  chairman  read  my  own  predictions  of  a  quarter 
of  a  century  ago.  I  noticed  that  one  word  was  left  out — 
he  did  not  quote  anything  about  the  Philippines. 

(Regent  Hallidie — "You  mentioned  'the  islands  of  the 
sea.' ") 

He  reminds  me  that  I  mentioned  "  the  islands  of  the  sea,'* 
but  I  do  not  believe  I  was  thinking  of  the  Philippines.  Now, 
for  better  or  worse,  for  richer  or  poorer,  we  are  there. 
Yonder  is  the  gateway  by  which  our  countrymen  are  going 
to  the  Orient.  The  next  five-and-twenty  years  will  cer- 
tainly show  vast  influences,  for  good  or  for  evil,  on  all  the 
eastern  countries,  proceeding  from  California.  Unquestion- 
ably the  national  government  of  the  future  will  send  out 
as  its  representatives  in  Asia,  men  who  have  dwelt  on  these 
shores.  Unquestionably  the  minor  offices  of  government 
will  largely  be  filled  with  young  men  going  out  from  this 
region.  Your  ships  are  to  transport  not  merchandise  only, 
but  ideas.  Your  influences  of  every  sort  are  to  be  felt 
in  these  far  distant  countries  ;•  first  in  Hawaii,  then  in  the 
Philippines,  and  afterwards,  assuredly,  in  Japan  and  China. 

There  are  two  or  three  things  which  this  University 
can  do.  It  can  advocate  a  pure  civil  service  and  the 
selection  of  competent  men  for  posts  of  responsibility.  An 
English  traveller  told  me  not  long  since,  that  England 
never  awakened  to  a  sense  of  the  importance  of  good  home 
government  until  her  young  men  were  sent  to  India,  and 
there  brought  into  contact  with  other  races,  and  with  men 
of  other  nations,  and  were  thus  forced  to  show  the  very 
best  qualities  which  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  possesses.  I  be- 
lieve that  the  sending  out  of  our  young  men  to  the  Orient 
will  be  the  means  of  promoting  a  better  government  at 
home  than  what  we  now  possess.  Civilisation  as  it  goes 
forward  will  not  only  need  official  representatives, — teachers 


PRESIDENT  WHEELER  233 

will  be  called  for.  There  is  already  the  nucleus  of  a  uni- 
versity in  Manila ;  but  it  certainly  would  be  propitious  if  the 
Americans,  if  the  Californians  could  do  as  General  Kitch- 
ener did  at  Khartoum — establish  a  college  in  Manila,  an 
off-shoot  of  Berkeley  and  Stanford. 

I  must  conclude.  My  message  is  summed  up  in  these 
words:  Uphold  and  cherish  and  hand  on  the  idea  of  liberal 
culture  as  one  of  the  most  important  heirlooms  which  our 
generation  possesses.  Never  say  a  word  to  disparage  it; 
and  if  sometimes  those  in  authority  seem  to  check  the 
development  that  we  hope  for,  remember  that  in  every  har- 
vest, husks  and  chaff  are  mixed  with  the  grains  of  wheat. 

Let  us  study  the  progress  of  human  civilization,  remem- 
bering that  by  ideas  the  world  is  governed.  They  are 
stronger  than  kings  in  council,  or  representatives  in  Con- 
gress; more  enduring  than  Bills  of  Right,  or  written  con- 
stitutions, or  governments,  or  treaties,  or  creeds:  they  bind 
together  men  of  different  speech,  of  different  races,  of  dif- 
ferent parties;  they  give  unity  to  human  purpose;  they  pro- 
mote human  progress:  and  universities  are  the  exponents  of 
these  civilising  ideas.  We  accept  them  as  an  inheritance 
from  an  antiquity  we  know  not  how  remote ;  we  pass  them  on 
to  generations  we  know  not  how  distant,  to  lands  we  know 
not  how  far. 


RESEARCH 

A  Speech  Delivered  at  the  Convocation  of  the 
University  of  Chicago,  June,  1903 


xiv; 

RESEARCH — A    SPEECH    DELIVERED    AT    THE    CONVOCATION 
OF   THE   UNIVERSITY  OF   CHICAGO,  JUNE,    1 903 

IT  is  a  great  privilege,  Rector  Magnificus,  Senatus  'A  cade- 
micus,  to  address  this  Convocation.  It  would  be  both  easy 
and  pleasant  to  spend  the  hour  in  recounting  the  obligations 
of  the  entire  land  to  the  munificent  Founder  whose  gifts 
are  not  limited  in  amount  nor  restricted  to  one  locality;  and 
to  the  President  and  the  faculties,  whose  learning  and  en- 
thusiasm have  secured  for  this  institution  such  high  distinc- 
tion, not  only  in  the  United  States,  but  in  the  world  of 
science  and  letters,  as  the  most  suggestive,  the  most  compre- 
hensive, the  most  successful,  and  the  most  hopeful  of  many 
new  foundations  among  us  for  the  advancement  of  higher 
education.  This  city  has  much  to  be  proud  of,  much  that  ex- 
cites the  admiration  of  other  places;  but  there  is  nothing 
worthier  of  its  pride,  its  hopes,  and  its  confidence  than  this 
young  and  vigorous  University  to  which  so  many  scholars 
have  consecrated  their  lives,  to  which  so  many  benefactors 
have  consecrated  their  fortunes. 

But  I  must  not  be  restricted  to  this  theme,  however  allur- 
ing. I  ask  you  to  consider  the  progress  of  science  in  the 
United  States  of  America,  as  it  appears  to  a  watchman  on 
the  towers,  at  the  beginning  of  the  twentieth  century. 

Let  me  prepare  you  for  an  optimistic  view,  to  which  I  am 
driven  by  certain  disparaging  comments  that  have  lately 
been  printed.  Before  I  conclude,  I  shall  indicate  some  of 
the  purposes  and  hopes  of  the  Carnegie  Institution  that  be- 
speak from  the  scientific  workers  in  this  country  confidence 
combined  with  patience  and  consideration. 

237 


238    THE   LAUNCHING  OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

To  conciliate  an  audience  which  includes  many  eminent 
specialists,  let  me  disclaim  expertness  in  any  branch.  Not 
mine  the  satisfaction  of  adding  to  flora  or  fauna  a  specimen 
"  new  to  science,"  nor  of  discovering  an  asteroid  before  un- 
seen; not  mine  the  greater  distinction  of  perceiving  and  an- 
nouncing relations  and  laws,  hitherto  unknown,  which 
govern  the  affinities  of  matter  and  the  units  of  force.  To 
me  electricity  and  magnetism  are  mysteries  even  greater 
than  they  are  to  the  most  able  physicists.  To  weigh  the 
stars  and  measure  the  velocity  of  light  seems  to  me  an 
achievement  as  difficult  as  to  write  an  epic  or  conquer  an  em- 
pire. Before  the  queen  of  the  sciences — abstract  mathe- 
matics— I  bow  my  head  and  kneel  uncovered.  Yet  I  am  an 
observer  of  the  progress  of  science,  who  has  had  opportunities, 
prolonged  and,  in  some  respects,  unique,  for  watching,  and 
now  and  then  for  helping,  the  workers,  to  whom  appreciation 
and  sympathy  could  at  least  be  offered ;  often  pecuniary  sup- 
port; once  in  a  while,  counsel;  sometimes,  defence;  always, 
admiration. 

Observation  from  this  watchtower  will  be  clearer  after 
some  of  the  underbrush  which  might  interrupt  our  vision 
has  been  removed.  I  begin  by  reminding  you  that  during 
the  last  century  the  range  of  science  was  vastly  extended. 
Its  domain  is  now  imperial.  When  some  of  us  were  under- 
graduates science  was  restricted  to  the  phenomena  of  the 
visible  world,  to  the  study  of  those  objects  which  might  be 
measured  by  instruments  of  precision.  Chemistry,  physics, 
and  natural  history  (to  which  geology,  on  the  one  hand,  and 
medicine,  on  the  other,  were  related)  were  the  chief  depart- 
ments. Mathematics,  pure  and  applied,  was  an  entity  apart. 
Now  all  these  subjects  are  subjected  to  manifold  sub- 
divisions, as  branches  of  science;  at  the  same  time,  a  host 
of  younger  aspirants  claim  recognition  as  belonging  to  the 
parent  stem.  History,  archaeology,  geography,  meteorology, 
agriculture,  philology,  psychology,  logic,  sociology,  and  even 


RESEARCH  239 

jurisprudence  and  theology,  are  employing  the  scientific 
method,  with  increasing  success,  and  demand  recognition  in 
the  surrogate's  court,  as  the  next  of  kin.  Conservative  ob- 
servers of  nature,  and  especially  the  workers  in  laboratories 
and  museums,  may  look  askance  at  these  newcomers,  as  the 
aristocracy  regard  the  nouveaux  riches,  and  as  bearers  of 
armorial  bearings,  worn  since  the  crusades,  regard  the 
heraldic  escutcheons  which  are  fabricated  to-day.  Yet  may 
we  not  claim  that  this  vast  expansion  of  the  scientific  method 
is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  and  one  of  the  most  propi- 
tious gains  of  the  nineteenth  century?  To  the  doctrine  of 
evolution,  and  its  great  expounders,  the  advance  is  largely 
due.  Nevertheless,  while  the  old  line  between  the  sciences 
and  the  humanities  may  be  invisible  as  the  equator,  it  has  an 
existence  as  real.  On  the  one  side  are  cognitions  which  may 
be  submitted  to  demonstrative  proof;  which  do  not  depend 
upon  opinion,  preference,  or  authority ;  which  are  true  every- 
where and  all  the  time;  while  on  the  other  side  are  cogni- 
tions which  depend  upon  our  spiritual  natures,  our  aesthetic 
preferences,  our  intellectual  traditions,  our  religious  faith. 
Earth  and  man,  nature  and  the  supernatural,  letters  and 
science,  the  humanities  and  the  realities,  are  the  current 
terms  of  contrast  between  the  two  groups,  and  there  are 
no  signs  that  these  distinctions  will  ever  vanish.  Apparently 
mankind  will  continue  to  enjoy  the  great  productions  of 
literature,  music,  painting,  sculpture,  and  architecture,  with- 
out regard  to  the  brains  that  produced  these  delight-giving 
works;  and  humanity  will  cultivate  the  sentiments  of  affec- 
tion, loyalty,  and  worship,  without  regard  to  the  pulsations 
of  the  heart  and  the  reactions  of  our  nervous  systems. 

Moreover,  the  opposition  which  science  encountered  from 
theology  died,  or  at  least  became  moribund,  in  the  nineteenth 
century.  In  the  twentieth,  only  memories  will  survive  of 
the  dogmatism  which  endeavoured  to  stifle  in  their  helpless- 
ness, like  the  babes  in  the  tower,  those  infant  sciences,  as- 


24o    THE   LAUNCHING  OF  A   UNIVERSITY 

tronomy,  geology,  biology,  and  evolution.  The  story  of  past 
conflicts  and  of  steady  triumphs,  is  it  not  related  in  the 
volumes  of  Andrew  D.  White?  The  attitude  of  to-day,  is  it 
not  shown  in  the  recent  speech  of  Lord  Kelvin,  and  in  the 
Autobiography  of  Joseph  Le  Conte? 

Again,  the  dread  of  science,  as  a  dominant  factor  in  higher 
education,  which  was  prevalent  in  the  early  part  of  the  nine- 
teenth century,  has  reached  the  vanishing  point.  "  Bread- 
and-butter  studies  "  are  no  longer  spoken  of  in  derision,  as 
they  were  in  my  undergraduate  days. 

All  this  is  general,  applicable  to  other  lands  as  well  as  to 
our  own.  Now,  when  we  restrict  our  vision  to  this  country, 
specific  considerations  become  so  obvious  that  I  need  only 
mention  them. 

These  among  others  are  conditions  favourable  to  the  ad- 
vancement of  science  among  us: 

The  diffusion  of  popular  education,  securing  an  army  of 
intelligent  people,  among  whom  the  elect  discoverers  and  in- 
vestigators are  constantly  appearing. 

The  general  acceptance  of  elective  courses  in  schools  of  all 
grades,  especially  in  colleges,  so  that  individual  wants  and 
personal  aptitudes  may  be  provided  for.  This  is  a  triumph 
of  the  last  thirty  years. 

The  readiness  of  the  United  States  Government,  and  of 
many  separate  States,  especially  in  the  West,  to  contribute 
liberally  to  the  support  of  applied  science.  An  enumeration 
of  the  resources  of  the  national  capital,  made  here  two  years 
ago,  shows  what  Congress  is  willing  to  do:  for  one  depart- 
ment of  investigation  a  million  and  a  quarter  dollars  in  one 
year!  Another  sign  is  found  in  the  growth  of  agricultural 
colleges  and  experiment  stations  throughout  the  land,  and 
the  development  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture.  Another 
sign  is  the  growth  of  State  universities. 

The  admission  of  educated  women — not  in  exceptional 
cases,  but  in  considerable  and  increasing  numbers — to  the 


RESEARCH  241 

opportunities  of  original  investigation  for  which,  in  certain 
departments,  they  show  marked  adaptation  and  for  which 
they  can  readily  prepare  themselves  in  the  colleges  for 
women. 

The  establishment  of  libraries,  museums,  laboratories,  and 
observatories  by  the  munificent  and  unparalleled  generosity 
of  American  citizens. 

The  sharp  distinction  between  collegiate  and  university 
ideals. 

With  these  favourable  conditions  there  are  some  that  are 
unfavourable.  The  remuneration  afforded  to  the  leading  ex- 
ponents of  science  is  for  the  most  part  quite  inadequate. 
Larger  salaries,  with  pensions  for  old  age  and  disability, 
with  provision  for  widows  and  children,  are  much  to  be 
desired.  Suitable  recognition  for  scientific  attainments  is 
still  wanting. 

The  great  demand  upon  the  educated  and  intellectual 
classes  of  our  country  for  service  in  financial  and  industrial 
incorporations,  where  compensation  of  a  liberal  amount  is 
assured,  absorbs  much  ability.  Many  young  scholars,  who 
might  rise  to  distinction  if  their  talents  were  devoted  to 
literature  and  science,  are  diverted  from  these  fascinating 
but  unremunerative  careers  by  the  necessity  that  they  fore- 
see of  securing  a  competence,  perhaps,  in  some  case,  by  a 
preference,  inherited  or  caught  by  infection,  for  that  luxury 
which  modern  society  encourages  to  the  neglect  of  old-fash- 
ioned economy,  moderation,  and  repose. 

As  science  can  have  no  rapid  development  without  prompt 
publication,  it  is  well  that  many  periodicals  devoted  to  re- 
search are  now  maintained  in  this  country;  but  it  is  a  mis- 
fortune that  many  of  them  appear  under  such  restrictions  that 
they  have  very  limited  circulation,  and  that  often  the  edi- 
torial supervision  is  so  inadequate  that  the  elimination  of  poor 
material  and  the  condensation  of  that  which  is  good  are  neg- 
lected. We  are  prone  to  "  printing  without  publishing." 


242    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

Consequently  our  journals  are  not  as  widely  read  abroad  or 
at  home  as  they  should  be.  In  the  next  stage  of  progress 
there  will  be  an  agreement  among  the  leading  editors  and 
publishers  to  appear  as  co-operators,  and  not  as  rivals,  in  the 
use  of  the  printing-press.  We  may  be  sure  that  the  law  of 
the  survival  of  the  fittest  will  soon  prevail. 

Under  these  conditions  a  new  term  has  become  current  in 
our  academic  vocabulary,  the  term  "  research."  It  is  a  new 
term,  not  a  new  idea,  for  Herodotus  and  Aristotle,  Roger 
Bacon  and  Francis  Bacon,  Isaac  Newton  and  Linnaeus, 
Franklin  and  Rumford,  and  hosts  of  American  forerunners 
and  contemporaries,  eager  in  the  pursuit  of  knowledge, 
have  made  contributions  to  the  storehouses  of  mankind  which 
still  furnish  seed-corn  to  the  cultivators  and  experience  to 
experimenters.  "  Research "  is  not  a  felicitous  term. 
Neither,  for  that  matter,  is  the  term  "  university,"  which 
originally  meant  the  entire  body,  or  corporation,  of  civic, 
ecclesiastical,  or  educational  authorities.  Centuries  ago  the 
world  gave  its  preference  to  "  university  "  and  turned  a  cold 
shoulder  upon  studium  generate.  Apparently,  "  reseajch  " 
has  likewise  come  to  stay. 

The  word  was  presented  to  the  English-speaking  world  in 
1875  in  a  volume  entitled  The  Endowment  of  Research,  by 
Dr.  Appleton,  an  English  scholar.  We  have  the  authority 
of  his  learned  associate,  the  humanist  Mark  Pattison,  for  say- 
ing that  it  was  then  a  new  conception  made  popular  under 
the  term  "  research."  "  The  term,"  he  remarks,  "  is  inap- 
propriate enough,  but,  like  all  complex  conceptions,  no  one 
word  in  the  language  is  anything  like  adequate  to  cover  this 
conception;  yet  some  one  word  must  be  employed  when  we 
want  to  speak  much  of  the  thing."  Whatever  results  may 
have  followed  in  England,  the  arguments  of  Pattison  and  Ap- 
pleton and  their  associates  had  a  very  strong  influence  upon 
the  organisation  of  one  American  university  in  the  year  1876, 
and  since  that  time  the  conception  of  "  research  "  has  spread 


RESEARCH  243 

throughout  our  land  from  peak  to  peak  like  the  signal  fires 
described  by  the  Greek  dramatists. 

I  wish  it  were  possible  even  now  to  use  the  words  "  in- 
vestigation "  and  "  investigators,"  but  certainly  something 
more  than  an  act  of  the  legislature  will  be  required  before 
the  child  can  throw  off  the  name  by  which  it  has  been  chris- 
tened. Even  that  suggested  is  not  very  good.  The  "  ad- 
vancement of  knowledge  "  was  Lord  Bacon's  phrase,  adopted 
by  the  founder  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  the  "  ad- 
vancement and  diffusion  of  knowledge."  "  Creative  action," 
says  President  Eliot,  was  the  phrase  of  Ralph  Waldo  Emer- 
son. "  Constructive  scholarship  "  is  proposed  by  Miinster- 
berg.  With  the  word  "  research  "  has  come  the  supplemen- 
tary "  research  assistants,"  and  in  every  laboratory  of  the  land 
funds  are  demanded  for  their  compensation.  Evidently  the 
young  aspirant,  at  the  outset  of  his  career,  requires  control, 
or  at  least  the  counsel  of  a  more  learned  and  experienced 
person,  or  his  production  will  be  a  memoir  of  busy  idleness. 
Counting  the  threads  of  a  carpet,  or  the  grains  in  a  bushel  of 
sand,  may  add  iotas  to  knowledge,  but  it  will  be  to  the  do- 
main of  useless  knowledge.  Doing  what  has  already  been 
well  done  is  a  waste  of  energy,  though  we  call  it  research. 
Time  given  to  isolated  and  unrelated  inquiries  is  a  bad  in- 
vestment. On  the  other  hand,  genius  will  propose  its  own 
path,  will  ask  its  own  hard  questions,  and  proceed  by  its  own 
methods  to  answer  them. 

We  often  hear  discussions  as  to  the  relation  of  instruction 
to  research.  Sterile  intellects  attribute  their  non-produc- 
tiveness to  overwork,  when  a  more  acute  diagnosis  detects 
a  lack  of  will-power.  Will-weakness  is  as  common  as  neu- 
rasthenia. None  of  our  college  faculties  are  perfectly  im- 
mune from  this  infection.  It  must  be  admitted  that  serious 
administrative  duties  are  impediments  to  prolonged  work  in 
the  laboratory  or  the  library ;  but  instruction  is  not  adminis- 
tration. Sylvester,  the  great  mathematician,  said  that  his 


244    THE   LAUNCHING   OF  A  UNIVERSITY 

mind  was  never  so  fertile  as  when  excited  by  the  queries  and 
criticisms  of  his  pupils;  and  scores  of  our  eminent  contem- 
poraries would  say  so,  too.  On  the  other  hand,  certain 
minds  have  done  their  best  work  without  pedagogical  obli- 
gations. Darwin,  Lyell,  and  Hooker  form  a  conspicuous 
trio  of  the  non-professorial  class.  Herbert  Spencer  drew  no 
stipend.  Willard  Gibbs  won  distinction  before  he  won  a 
salary  of  a  thousand  dollars.  The  astronomer  Hill  needed 
no  outside  impulse;  his  was  the  rare  power  of  self-fertilisa- 
tion. Dana  was  famous  as  a  naturalist  long  before  he  was  a 
professor.  No  absolute  rule  can  be  laid  down  more  explicit 
than  this,  let  those  who  have  the  duties  of  a  professorship 
discharge  them  well ;  and  those  who  have  leisure  be  sure  that 
it  is  not  wasted. 

Let  us  now  consider  how  well  prepared  this  country  is  for 
scientific  research  or  productive  scholarship.  Certain  favour- 
able conditions  are  obvious.  Some  may  be  indicated, — wide- 
spread, almost  universal,  education  furnishing  a  large  body 
of  well-instructed  persons,  from  whom  recruits  may  be 
drafted;  freedom  from  the  restrictions  of  an  established 
church  and  from  governmental  impediment;  general  recogni- 
tion of  the  importance  of  scientific  inquiry;  in  many  direc- 
tions— liberal  outlays  by  the  nation  and  by  States;  munifi- 
cent endowments  from  individuals,  becoming,  as  the  years 
roll  on,  more  liberal  in  amount  and  more  liberal  in  scope; 
noteworthy  indications  of  versatility,  ingenuity,  adaptability 
and  patience  on  the  part  of  American  youth ;  unselfish  readi- 
ness to  enter  upon  unremunerative  careers  for  the  pleasure  of 
living  in  devotion  to  science;  and  a  newspaper  press  eager  to 
make  public  every  new  birth. 

Nor  is  this  all.  Our  equipments  are  good;  collections  of 
books  and  periodicals  are  very  large  and  well  chosen ;  museums 
of  natural  history  are  rapidly  increasing;  our  astronomical 
instruments  are  unsurpassed;  our  physical  and  chemical 
laboratories  have  all  the  requirements  of  modern  science, 


RESEARCH 

If  I  may  be  allowed  to  use  a  word  from  the  market-place,  we 
have  an  extensive  plant,  facilities  adequate  to  a  very  large 
business.  Perhaps  the  plant  is  greater  than  is  requisite  to- 
day. No  matter.  Darwin  wrote  to  Thistleton-Dyer,  in 
1878,  these  words: 

I  have  a  very  strong  opinion  that  it  would  be  the  greatest  possible 
pity  if  the  physiological  laboratory,  now  that  it  has  been*  built, 
were  not  supplied  with  as  many  good  instruments  as  your  funds 
can  possibly  afford.  It  is  quite  possible  that  some  of  them  may  be- 
come antiquated  before  they  are  much  or  even  at  all  used.  But 
this  does  not  seem  to  me  any  argument  at  all  against  getting  them, 
for  the  laboratory  cannot  be  used  until  well  provided;  and  the  mere 
fact  of  the  instruments  being  ready  may  suggest  to  someone  to  use 
them.  You  at  Kew,  as  guardians  and  promoters  of  botanical  science, 
will  then  have  done  all  in  your  power,  and  if  your  laboratory  is  not 
used,  the  disgrace  will  lie  at  the  feet  of  the  public.  But  until  bitter 
experience  proves  the  contrary,  I  will  never  believe  that  we  are  «o 
backward. 

When  Rowland  was  asked  to  select  the  apparatus  for  the 
new  university  to  which  he  was  called,  he  bought  freely  the 
costliest  instruments  of  precision.  The  supply  preceded  the 
demand;  the  demand  appeared  at  once.  An  amusing  illus- 
tration of  the  conservative  hold-back  is  given  by  President 
Loudon  in  a  recent  admirable  appeal  for  the  recognition  of 
research  in  the  universities  of  Canada :  "  An  English  pro- 
fessor, himself  a  classical  scholar  (on  an  occasion  so  recent 
as  the  establishment  of  the  physical  laboratory  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Toronto),  inquired:  'Why  go  to  the  expense  of 
purchasing  this  elaborate  equipment,  until  the  physicists  have 
made  an  end  of  making  discoveries  ? ' '  No  American 
scholar  could  have  asked  that  question. 

The  size  of  a  college  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  progress 
of  investigation.  I  read,  for  example,  that  a  recent  traveller 
who  had  reached  Lassa,  in  Thibet,  found  near  the  forbidden 
shrine  three  institutions  where  fifteen  thousand  monks  are 
engaged  in  learned  pursuits.  In  one  of  these,  six  thousand 


246    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

boys,  young  men  and  grey-bearded  patriarchs  are  studying 
theology;  yet  not  one  contribution  to  science  has  ever  come 
from  that  focus  of  Buddhist  lore,  though  Dalai  Lama  is  the 
living  Buddha.  I  remember  that  the  Royal  Institution  in 
London,  without  any  students,  gave  rooms  to  Young,  Davy, 
Faraday,  Tyndall,  Rayleigh,  and  Dewar — a  truly  apostolic 
succession.  Agassiz  and  Guyot  won  their  distinction  in  the 
fresh-water  college  of  Neufchatel.  Princeton  was  an  un- 
developed institution  when  Joseph  Henry  made  his  funda- 
mental discoveries  in  electro-magnetism.  Yale  had  a  very 
meagre  equipment  in  books  and  instruments  when  Olmsted, 
Herrick,  and  Newton  made  their  discoveries  in  respect  to 
meteoric  showers  and  the  origin  of  comets.  Liebig's  renown 
was  established  in  the  little  laboratory  which  still  stands  as 
his  proud  monument,  at  Giessen,  long  before  he  was  called  to 
Munich.  Scores  of  such  instances  might  readily  be  cited. 
Indeed,  the  facts  are  so  obvious  that  a  false  exaggeration  de- 
clares that  the  progress  of  science  varies  inversely  as  the  size 
of  the  laboratory:  the  larger  the  place  and  the  more  the 
students,  the  more  arduous  the  administration  and  the  more 
frequent  the  interruptions.  It  has  been  wittily  said  that 
Boston  is  not  a  place,  but  a  state  of  mind.  So  I  would  say : 
Research  depends  upon  a  state  of  mind,  and  not  on  the 
laboratory  or  the  instruments. 

With  all  the  advantages  that  have  been  enumerated,  how 
are  we  succeeding?  Listen  to  a  brilliant  exotic,  Professor 
Miinsterberg,  who  declares  that  the  "  idea  of  continental 
Europe,  in  regard  to  the  productive  scholars  of  the  New 
World,  can  be  as  easily  as  briefly  stated,"  and  then  he  makes 
this  formidable  announcement,  which  he  calls  "  the  idea  of 
continental  Europe,"  in  respect  to  American  scholarship.  It 
is  summed  up  in  three  ominous  words:  "  There  is  none." 

An  American,  long  resident  in  Europe,  Carl  Snyder,  sings 
the  same  dirge.  "  America's  position  in  the  world  of  science 
is  inferior  "  are  his  words.  "  Why  has  the  United  States  so 


RESEARCH  247 

slight  a  share  in  the  marvellous  scientific  advance  of  the  cen- 
tury? "  is  his  significant  inquiry.  Several  pages  are  devoted 
to  the  delineation  of  this  failure. 

I  do  not  know  by  what  processes  of  telepathy  or  wireless 
telegraphy  this  "  idea  of  continental  Europe,"  in  respect  to 
productive  scholarship  in  America,  can  be  reduced  to  three 
words:  "There  is  none."  I  prefer  to  scan  the  list  of 
Americans  who  have  received  the  highest  honours  of  the 
academies  of  sciences  in  Europe — honours  which  are  bestowed 
only  for  important  contributions  to  knowledge.  Begin 
with  the  names  of  Franklin  and  Rumford,  then  read  the  roll 
continued  in  our  day  by  the  names  of  Joseph  Henry,  Louis 
Agassiz,  Asa  Gray,  Joseph  Leidy,  Benjamin  Peirce,  James  D. 
Dana,  Hubert  A.  Newton,  James  Hall,  O.  C.  Marsh, 
Henry  A.  Rowland,  Joseph  E.  Keeler,  Willard  Gibbs,  and 
by  scores  of  living  investigators  now  active  in  every  part  of 
the  land. 

Here  let  me  pay  a  tribute  of  friendship  and  admiration 
to  one  of  our  countrymen  who  has  just  departed,  having  at- 
tained to  the  highest  rank  among  the  mathematical  physicists 
of  the  world — Willard  Gibbs,  whose  eminence,  like  that  of 
Sir  Isaac  Newton,  will  be  more  and  more  conceded  as  time 
rolls  on. 

He  was  an  authority  upon  themes  of  great  importance  and 
difficulty  in  a  domain  where  the  door  is  open  only  to  those 
who  can  give  the  pass-word  as  past-masters  in  a  science  most 
profound,  where  his  leadership  was  that  of  exploration  and 
conquest,  where  his  distinction  is  acknowledged  by  the  most 
distinguished  physicists  in  Europe  and  America.  There  is 
good  authority  for  saying  that  "  by  a  wonderful  exercise  of 
scientific  imagination  and  logical  power  he  predicted  the 
greater  part  of  the  science  of  physical  chemistry."  His 
creation  of  the  vector  analysis  is  equally  remarkable.  Pro- 
fessor Ostwald,  one  among  the  foremost,  says  of  the  work 
of  Professor  Gibbs  in  thermo-dynamics :  "Untouched 


248    THE   LAUNCHING   OF  A   UNIVERSITY 

treasures,  in  the  greatest  variety  and  of  the  greatest  import- 
ance, to  the  theoretical  as  well  as  to  the  experimental  in- 
vestigator, still  lie  within  its  pages." 

This  is  not  the  place  for  the  enumeration  of  other  sub- 
jects which  were  enriched  by  his  genius.  At  the  moment,  we 
can  only  place  the  name  of  Willard  Gibbs  among  the  fore- 
most of  American  intellects  at  the  opening  of  this  century, 
and  commend  to  younger  men  his  life  and  example.  In  his 
crown  are  seven  precious  stones — Genius,  Training,  Resolu- 
tion, Self-dependence,  Perseverance,  Modesty,  and  Success. 

In  academic  circles  Chauvinism  is  offensive,  and  I  would 
not  venture  thus  to  speak  of  the  achievements  of  our  country- 
men, were  it  not  that  derogatory  remarks  have  been  received 
with  applause  by  a  chorus  of  pessimists ;  were  it  not  time  that 
the  voice  of  the  optimists  should  be  heard  in  the  land.  Under 
these  circumstances  you  will  perhaps  listen  without  censure 
to  these  concluding  remarks.  To  illustrate  American  ac- 
tivities in  science,  I  would  dwell  upon  the  progress  made  in 
the  study  of  our  vast  domain  between  two  oceans,  to  the 
knowledge  acquired  of  its  coasts,  harbours,  rivers,  lakes ;  of  its 
valleys,  plains,  hills,  and  mountain  ranges;  of  its  mineral  de- 
posits, and  of  the  slow  processes  by  which  the  terrestrial  fea- 
tures have  been  moulded  and  modified.  I  would  recall  what 
has  been  done  beyond  our  own  territory,  in  surveys  of  the 
Atlantic  and  Pacific  seas,  and  in  the  Levant.  I  would  enu- 
merate the  memoirs  in  which  the  flora  and  the  fauna  of  this 
continent  have  been  enumerated  and  described — the  mollusks, 
the  crustaceans,  the  fishes,  the  reptiles,  the  birds,  and  the 
mammalia  living  and  palaeozoic;  the  mosses,  the  ferns,  the 
algae,  the  flowers,  the  shrubs,  and  the  forests.  I  would  point 
to  the  study  of  the  weather  and  the  climate,  and  our  con- 
tributions to  the  laws  of  meteorology.  I  would  follow 
American  explorers  in  their  near  approach  to  the  north  pole, 
and  go  with  others  to  Alaska  and  eastern  Siberia.  I  would 
summon  a  great  company  of  American  archaeologists  and 


RESEARCH  249 

ethnologists  engaged  in  the  scrutiny  of  primitive  man.  I 
would  remember  that  this  earth  is  a  star  among  the  stars, 
and  enumerate  the  contributions  to  astronomical  science  which 
have  been  made  by  observing  the  starry  heavens  and  in  the 
quiet  studies  of  able  mathematicians.  The  work  of  our 
chemists  should  not  be  overlooked,  nor  the  fact  that  one  of 
the  most  brilliant  among  them  has  declined  a  chair  in  a 
German  university  offered  to  him  in  recognition  of  his  re- 
searches. In  the  field  of  physics  some  of  our  most  gifted 
countrymen  should  be  named  and  mention  should  be  made 
of  their  investigations  of  the  velocity  of  light,  in  spectrum 
analysis,  in  the  mechanical  equivalent  of  heat,  in  the  de- 
termination of  electrical  units,  and  in  other  abstract, 
far-reaching  studies  of  fundamental  laws.  I  would  show 
that  the  group  of  studies  called  biological  has  not  been 
overlooked,  and  would  name  the  memoirs  and  treatises  in 
minute  anatomy,  neurology,  embryology,  morphology,  and 
physiology  which  have  come  from  the  laboratories  of  biology, 
and  the  fruitful  results  of  bacteriological  and  pathological 
studies  which  have  resulted  in  the  partial  or  complete  con- 
trol of  certain  infectious  diseases.  Nor  would  I  forget  the 
contributions  to  classical  and  Semitic  archaeology  which 
Americans  have  made  and  are  making,  and  to  the  distinction 
won  by  William  Dwight  Whitney  and  his  followers  in  com- 
parative philology,  and  to  the  impulse  given  to  Biblical 
studies  by  Dr.  Harper,  the  head  of  this  university. 

Two  new  forces  have  lately  been  introduced,  which  will 
prove  to  be  supplemental  to  those  already  at  work  in  our  best 
universities  and  colleges.  One  of  these,  an  institution  de- 
voted to  pathological  investigation,  is  due  to  the  founder  of 
this  university,  Mr.  John  D.  Rockefeller.  The  other  is  an 
establishment  for  the  aid  of  scientific  investigation  in  any 
part  of  the  country — the  munificent  gift  of  Mr.  Andrew 
Carnegie.  His  many  gifts  for  varied  purposes  had  already 
secured  the  gratitude  due  to  a  prince  of  philanthropists,  and 


250    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

he  now  enrolls  his  name  among  the  foremost  promoters  of 
knowledge.  His  new  endowment  had  no  precursor  and  no 
parallel.  Rumford's  gifts  in  the  eighteenth  century  and 
Smithson's  in  the  nineteenth  were  its  near  of  kin.  The  large 
amount  attracted  universal  attention,  but  the  purposes  re- 
ceived still  greater  applause.  Mr.  Carnegie  had  the  sagacity 
to  perceive  that  education  and  investigation  are  distinct  func- 
tions of  civilised  life;  and  that  they  may  be  promoted  by 
different  corporations.  He  differentiated  the  two  chief  ob- 
jects of  a  university — instruction  and  research.  He  did  not 
intimate  that  these  two  functions  must  always  be  separated. 
Nobody  thinks  so.  They  may  be  united.  He  merely  gave 
emphasis  to  research  in  these  words: 

It  is  proposed  to  found,  in  the  city  of  Washington,  an  institution 
which,  with  the  cooperation  of  institutions  now  or  hereafter  es- 
tablished there  or  elsewhere,  shall  in  the  broadest  and  most  liberal 
manner  encourage  investigation,  research,  and  discovery;  show  the 
application  of  knowledge  to  the  improvement  of  mankind;  provide 
such  buildings,  laboratories,  books,  and  apparatus,  as  may  be  needed ; 
and  afford  instruction  of  an  advanced  character  to  students  properly 
qualified  to  profit  thereby. 

When  asked  if  he  wished  his  gift  to  be  restricted  to  our 
countrymen,  "No,"  was  his  prompt  and  wise  response; 
"  Science  is  not  limited  by  geographical  boundaries." 

Let  me  conclude  by  repeating  statements  already  made. 
Science,  in  the  United  States,  at  the  beginning  of  the 
twentieth  century  has  such  a  vantage-ground  as  it  never  oc- 
cupied before.  Laboratories  of  investigation  have  been 
opened;  instruments  of  precision  have  been  multiplied  and 
improved ;  universities  no  longer  give  undue  reverence  to  the 
written  word;  schools  of  science  and  for  technical  training 
have  been  organised;  general  education  has  improved; 
museums  are  well  endowed  and  arranged ;  journals  have  been 
established  for  great  departments  of  knowledge  and  for 
minute  specialties.  Men  of  letters  no  longer  regard  the 


RESEARCH  251 

men  of  science  as  but  half-educated ;  and  the  organised  forces 
of  religion  no  longer  array 'themselves  against  the  progress  of 
inquiry.  The  spirit  of  science  is  recognised  by  individuals 
and  governments.  A  few  objections  are  heard,  Vox  et 
praterea  nihil.  Science  is  accepted  as  synonymous  with  exact 
knowledge.  Truth  takes  the  place  of  tradition.  The 
study  of  nature  has  usurped  the  throne  of  human  authority. 
Mankind  has  attained  to  a  clearer  knowledge  of  the  great 
Omnipresence;  so  that  many  men  of  many  minds  find  in  an 
ancient  Credo  the  best  expression  of  their  knowledge  and  their 
faith:  "I  believe  in  God  the  Father  Almighty,  maker  of 
Heaven  and  Earth,  and  of  all  things  visible  and  invisible." 
In  the  confidence,  not  always  orally  expressed,  that  science 
is  the  discoverer  and  interpreter  of  this  divine  order,  men  de- 
vote themselves,  with  the  ardour  of  enthusiasm  which  has 
never  been  surpassed,  to  searching  and  researching,  hoping 
and  believing,  almost  knowing,  that  every  step  of  progress 
contributes  to  the  welfare  of  humanity,  to  the  physical,  in- 
tellectual, moral,  and  social  improvement  of  the  race.  The 
twentieth  century  begins  with  these  auspicious  expectations. 
May  it  produce,  in  our  country,  many  great  benefactors, 
many  wise  and  buoyant  leaders,  working  hand  in  hand, 
many  a  brilliant  discoverer,  many  a  true  philosopher. 


THE  DAWN  OF  A  UNIVERSITY 


WESTERN  RESERVE  UNIVERSITY 

In  1882  the  Western  Reserve  College,  which  had 
long  been  maintained  at  Hudson,  in  Ohio,  was  removed 
to  Cleveland,  and  took  its  position  there  as  the  Western 
Reserve  University.  Adelbert  College  was  then 
founded  by  Mr.  Amasa  Stone  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
tinuing under  more  favourable  circumstances  the  college 
work  that  had  been  initiated  many  years  before  at 
Hudson.  He  chose  the  name  "  Adelbert  College "  to 
commemorate  his  son,  Adelbert  Stone,  a  student  in  the 
Sheffield  Scientific  School  in  New  Haven  of  the  Class 
of  1866. 


XV; 

THE  DAWN  OF  A  UNIVERSITY 

IT  is  just  twenty  years  since  a  lad  in  health  and  good  spirits, 
full  of  promise  and  hope,  favoured  by  talents,  the  surround- 
ings of  a  good  home,  and  the  prospect  of  future  indepen- 
dence, left  this  city  to  pursue  his  studies  in  a  department  of 
Yale  College.  Three  years  later  his  lifeless  body,  rescued 
from  a  watery  grave,  was  brought  home  to  be  buried.  His 
friends  mourned  for  him  in  the  familiar  lines  of  Milton 
on  the  drowning  of  Lycidas. 

To-day  his  father  builds  this  monument,  Adelbert  Col- 
lege, where  other  Cleveland  youth  will  remember  and  emu- 
late the  character  of  that  bright  scholar,  strong,  versatile, 
buoyant,  brave,  studious,  patriotic  Christian. 

When  I  was  invited  to  deliver  this  address  I  asked  for 
reminiscences  from  one  who  was  a  student  with  Adelbert 
at  the  Sheffield  Scientific  School.  He  sent  me  a  glowing 
account  of  his  early  friend.  Speaking  of  the  resolutions  of 
the  Berzelius  Society,  to  which  Adelbert  Stone  belonged,  he 
goes  on  to  say :  "  I  notice  among  these  resolutions  one  that 
1  his  memory  shall  ever  remain  green  and  fragrant  in  our 
hearts/  The  memory  of  my  friend  is  green  and  fragrant  in 
my  heart  to-day.  I  can  scarcely  realise  that  more  than 
seventeen  years  have  passed  since,  side  by  side,  we  entered 
that  fatal  river.  As  I  read  the  words  written  with  youthful 
warmth  of  feeling,  and  under  the  immediate  shadow  of  that 
great  sorrow,  I  have  no  inclination  to  withdraw  a  single 
word  or  letter  from  the  warmest  testimonials  of  love  and  es- 
teem then  rendered.  On  the  contrary,  I  can  at  this  distance 

255 


256    THE   LAUNCHING   OF  A   UNIVERSITY 

of  time,  and  with  larger  experience  of  life,  the  more  fully 
appreciate  the  rare  and  beautiful  symmetry  of  young  Stone's 
character;  and  yet  the  mellowing  effect  of  time  is  not  needed 
to  obliterate  from  the  recollection  of  him  any  unloveliness 
of  character  or  unkindness  of  act." 

With  such  memories  as  these,  with  such  an  enduring 
monument  as  crowns  yon  noble  site,  and  with  such  bright 
prospects  as  attend  the  opening  of  Adelbert  College,  may 
we  not  change  our  lamentation  for  less  mournful  notes, 
and  from  the  poem  whence  his  dirge  was  chosen,  sing: 

".    .    .    weep  no  more, 
For  Lycidas,  your  sorrow,  is  not  dead, 
Sunk  though  he  be  beneath  the  watery  floor; 
So  sinks  the  day-star  in  the  ocean  bed, 
And  yet  anon  repairs  his  drooping  head, 
And  tricks  his  beams,  and  with  new  spangled  ore 
Flames  in  the  forehead  of  the  morning  sky; 
So  Lycidas  sank  low,  but  mounted  high." 

To  the  fact  that  I  was  then  an  officer  of  Yale  College, 
and  a  friend  of  Adelbert's,  my  presence  here  is  doubtless 
due.  But  the  way  I  can  best  honour  him,  and  second  the 
generous  purpose  of  his  father,  is  to  lead  this  community 
to  a  consideration  of  the  rare  opportunity  before  them.  It 
has  been  my  good  fortune  to  be  a  participant  in  developing 
a  new  department  in  an  old  college,  the  Sheffield  Scientific 
School  at  Yale;  in  planting  germs  from  old  oaks  in  the  new 
soil  of  California;  and  in  shaping  a  new  university  on  the 
border  land  of  North  and  South.  As  I  recall  the  exuberance 
of  hope  and  purpose  which  inspires  the  teachers  in  these  seats 
of  learning,  I  am  reminded  of  lines  in  Home's  poem  of 
"Orion," 

"  'Tis  always  Morning  somewhere  in  the  world, 

And  Eos  ever  rises,  circling 

The  varied  regions  of  mankind." 

It  is  morning  now  on  the  meridian  of  Cleveland,  and 


DAWN   OF  A   UNIVERSITY  257 

we  are  looking  at  the  Dawn  of  a  University.     This  suggests 
my  theme. 

The  responsibilities  of  those  who  undertake  to  organise 
the  higher  education  in  any  community  are  very  serious. 
They  are  acting  not  only  for  the  present,  but  for  subse- 
quent generations.  Their  work  is  not  restricted  to  the  in- 
stitutions they  found ;  it  pervades  society,  it  holds  up  certain 
standards  of  culture,  it  moulds  the  character  of  those  who 
are  to  be  of  influence  in  the  affairs  of  church  and  state,  it 
quickens  or  retards  the  progress  of  useful  knowledge,  it 
diffuses  a  love  of  literature  and  science,  it  produces  abstract 
thoughts  which  by  and  by  bear  fruit  in  the  affairs  of  practi- 
cal life.  In  short,  the  highest  school  in  any  region  is  like 
the  light-house  of  the  harbour,  giving  warning  and  en- 
couragement to  the  mariner,  and  serving  equally  the  interests 
of  those  who  are  guided  by  its  beams  and  those  who  are  wait- 
ing on  shore  for  the  cargoes  from  distant  climes.  Fortu- 
nately these  responsibilities  are  never  committed  to  an  in- 
dividual, however  high  may  be  his  station,  or  however  great 
his  knowledge,  his  wealth,  or  his  character.  They  are  dis- 
tributed among  the  persons  who  provide  the  requisite  funds, 
men  like  Case  and  Stone,  who  have  been  so  generous  in  this 
city;  the  trustees,  who  guide  the  general  policy  of  the 
institution,  and  have  the  final  voice  in  the  selection  of  offi- 
cers; and  the  faculty  on  whom  devolve  the  government  and 
instruction  of  the  youth.  Even  these  three  united  powers, 
the  founders,  the  curators,  and  the  teachers,  have  not  su- 
preme authority.  They  are  themselves  controlled  by  pub- 
lic opinion,  which  may  be  enlightened  and  sympathetic,  or 
cold  and  prejudiced;  they  are  influenced  by  the  usages  now 
prevalent  in  other  institutions,  which  may  not  be  approved, 
but  cannot  be  disregarded;  and  they  are  fettered  by  tradi- 
tions, ideas  worked  out  long  ago,  and  under  very  different 
circumstances  from  those  in  which  we  dwell,  bad  ideas 


258    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

mixed  up  with  good  in  an  intricate  tangle  of  tares  and  wheat, 
but  all  possessed  of  a  vitality  surpassing  that  of  written 
enactments,  and  underlying  all  conclusions  in  respect  to 
instruction. 

We  may  consider  it  unfortunate  that  the  ultimate  con- 
clusions of  men  who  have  grown  old  in  the  service  of  our 
colleges  have  not  been  fully  recorded,  and  that  younger 
and  less  distinguished  men  have  no  convenient  professional 
repository  for  the  registration  of  their  views  on  important 
pedagogical  and  educational  doctrines.  We  have  a  great 
many  school  journals,  voluminous  reports,  and  innumerable 
conventions,  but  we  have  no  digest.  We  cannot,  for  ex- 
ample, turn  to  any  cyclopaedia,  or  treatise,  or  scientific  serial, 
or  to  the  proceedings  of  any  society,  or  to  any  set  of  annual 
registers,  or  even  to  any  bibliography,  and  feel  confident 
that  we  have  been  directed  to  the  latest  and  wisest  utter- 
ances of  those  who  are  entitled  to  speak  by  authority.  We 
must  search  through  piles  of  dusty  pamphlets,  we  must  enter 
into  a  wide  correspondence,  or  we  must  travel  extensively 
from  college  to  college,  if  we  would  approximate  to  a 
thorough  understanding  of  the  opinions  respecting  the  prin- 
ciples and  methods  of  higher  education,  received  in  this 
country;  and  particularly  if  we  would  try  to  discriminate 
between  that  which  is,  because  it  has  been,  and  that  which  is, 
because  it  ought  to  be.  The  progress  of  education  is  thus 
seriously  retarded;  we  go  over  and  over  the  same  inquiries 
which  our  friends  have  been  over  before;  we  listen  to 
speeches  which  add  nothing  new  to  the  common  stock;  and 
worse  still,  we  keep  making  experiments  which  have  been 
made  before,  without  being  able  to  inform  ourselves  as  to 
what  has  been  already  proved.  It  is  not  thus  that  science 
makes  its  giant  strides.  Every  point  gained  by  the  student 
of  nature  is  placed  on  record,  where  it  may  be  studied,  and 
verified,  or  controverted;  every  new  discovery  is  registered, 
every  significant  fact  is  written  down,  every  law  is  stated. 


DAWN   OF   A   UNIVERSITY  259 

The  chemist  has  in  a  convenient  nook  of  his  laboratory  a  few 
sets,  that  are  lengthening  every  month,  of  journals  in  dif- 
ferent modern  languages,  and  to  them  he  turns  with  the  ut- 
most confidence  of  discovering  all  that  the  science  of  chemis- 
try has  accomplished  in  any  line  of  investigation.  The 
mathematician  has  his  journals ;  so  have  the  physicist  and  the 
biologist.  But  we  teachers  and  college  managers,  when  we 
are  placed  in  new  and  critical  circumstances,  and  have  some 
vital  problem  to  solve,  when  some  great  and  unusual  gift  is 
offered  to  us,  some  radical  change  of  base  is  proposed,  some 
enlarged  opportunity  unexpectedly  stands  opened,  are  often 
at  a  loss  to  know  what  the  wisest  men  of  our  profession  would 
advise,  and  where  to  look  for  indications  of  their  experience 
on  points  which  are  kindred  to  those  we  are  interested  in. 
He  will  be  a  great  benefactor  of  American  colleges  who 
gives  us  a  series  of  reports  of  cases  argued  and  decided  in  the 
high  tribunals  of  education.  We  should  there  find  the  ex- 
perience of  Harvard  and  Yale,  of  Princeton  and  Cornell,  of 
Ann  Arbor  and  Berkeley,  of  Charlottesville  and  Johns 
Hopkins.  Without  such  a  repository  or  index,  who  can  dis- 
cover what  advantages  or  disadvantages  came  from  the  re- 
moval of  the  university  from  the  heart  of  a  town  to  a  subur- 
ban site,  as  in  California?  who  can  find  out,  at  a  distance, 
why  the  Sheffield  Scientific  School  has  maintained  a  vigorous 
independent  life,  and  the  Lawrence  Scientific  School  has 
been  so  greatly  over-shadowed  by  or  absorbed  in  the  academic 
foundation  to  which  it  is  allied?  who  can  know  why 
William  and  Mary  College  lost  its  hold  upon  Virginia,  and 
yielded  to  a  State  university  the  position  to  which  its  early 
origin  entitled  it?  who  can  discriminate  among  the  innova- 
tions which  were  introduced  at  Cornell  University,  and  tell 
how  many  of  its  bright  and  progressive  ideas  have  been  fol- 
lowed by  other  institutions?  how  can  the  record  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Michigan  be  compared  with  that  of  other  State 
universities,  for  the  benefit  of  Texas,  Nebraska,  and  other 


260    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

States  which  are  endeavouring  to  enter  upon  like  undertak- 
ings? who  can  explain  why  certain  promising  foundations, 
like  the  universities  of  Albany  and  Troy,  were  so  soon  aban- 
doned, while  others, far  less  hopeful, continued  to  live?  These 
are  but  examples  of  inquiries  into  the  experience  of  our  own 
country  which  the  managers  of  every  kindred  foundation 
should  make.  If  I  am  not  mistaken,  the  result  of  such  an 
investigation  would  establish  several  principles  so  clearly 
that  they  might  almost  be  called  the  laws  of  higher  educa- 
tion. Nobody  enacted  them;  nobody  can  repeal  them. 
They  are  the  common  law  of  our  colleges.  Some  day  a 
diligent  student  will  come  forward  and  reduce  them  to  for- 
mal statements,  and  be  to  subsequent  writers  the  Newton  or 
the  Grotius  of  educational  doctrine. 

Two  or  three  such  principles  among  the  many  to  be  de- 
duced may  be  mentioned  here  as  fundamental  to  all  progress. 
In  the  first  place  the  chief  value  of  a  college  is  in  the 
intellectual  training  which  it  gives  to  those  who  follow  its 
courses.  In  another  connection  I  may  discuss  the  various 
claims  of  different  subjects,  but  here,  in  the  very  front  of  our 
reflections,  I  wish  to  repeat  the  old  idea  that  the  youth  who 
are  to  pursue  an  intellectual  life  must  receive  prolonged  men- 
tal discipline  from  those  who  are  competent  to  give  it.  They 
must  be  taught  to  face  difficulties  and  overcome  them.  On 
this  point  I  believe  that  the  college  teachers  in  civilised  coun- 
tries are  agreed;  their  differences  have  reference  to  methods 
only,  and  particularly  to  the  question  whether  mental  power 
may  not  be  developed  just  as  well  by  one  subject  or  course 
of  study  as  by  another. 

Closely  related  to  this  doctrine  is  a  second — that  moral 
and  religious  training  should  be  coincident  with  intellectual 
discipline.  It  does  not  follow  that  colleges  should  be  ec- 
clesiastical foundations,  or  that  attendance  upon  involun- 
tary acts  of  worship  is  essential.  But  it  does  mean  that  while 
youth  are  forming  their  habits  of  body  and  mind,  they  are 


DAWN   OF   A   UNIVERSITY  261 

also  forming  their  habits  of  moral  and  spiritual  life,  and 
should  be  taught,  not  necessarily  in  the  college,  but  simulta- 
neously with  their  collegiate  lessons,  to  build  on  firm  foun- 
dations their  ethical  conduct  and  their  religious  faith. 

A  third  accepted  doctrine  is  this:  Intellectual  progress, 
like  physical  growth,  depends  on  a  judicious  diet,  which 
must  be  varied  not  only  to  please  the  palate,  but  to  pro- 
mote the  health.  Four  groups  of  subjects  are  now-a-days 
freely  offered  to  the  students'  choice,  mathematics,  the  physi- 
cal and  natural  sciences,  language,  and  the  historical  and 
moral  sciences.  Not  one  of  these  can  well  be  omitted.  The 
reader  of  a  recent  discussion  in  England  on  the  comparative 
claims  or  merits  of  literature  and  science  might  suppose  that 
there  was  a  perpetual  conflict  between  two  rivals,  and  that 
peace  would  not  be  established  until  one  or  the  other  of  the 
high  contending  forces  had  surrendered.  I  am  reminded  of 
the  old  dilemma  as  to  what  will  happen  when  an  irresistible 
force  meets  an  immovable  body.  The  claims  of  science  are 
certainly  irresistible;  the  claims  of  literature  unyielding. 
What  will  happen  if  they  conflict  ?  We  had  better  avoid  the 
issue  by  employing  both  these  forces  in  alliance,  for  the  pro- 
motion of  intellectual  and  moral  culture. 

It  is  fortunately  not  necessary  in  this  community  to 
defend  the  fundamental  ideas  of  liberal  education,  for  by 
observation  and  experience  you  know  the  worth  of  col- 
leges and  are  endeavouring,  individually  and  collectively,  to 
promote  them  in  the  most  efficient  way.  But  as  it  is  always 
well  to  have  a  reason  for  the  faith  which  is  in  us,  I  ask  you 
to  dwell  for  a  few  minutes  on  the  motives  which  lead  to  such 
movements  and  such  endowments  as  we  here  and  now  observe. 

In  the  first  place,  we  should  consider  the  benefit  bestowed 
upon  the  youth  who  are  thus  trained.  Sceptics  in  regard 
to  higher  education  may  point  to  Shakespeare,  with  his 
little  Latin  and  less  Greek;  to  Franklin,  the  philosopher  and 
statesman,  with  his  homely  English  and  poor  French;  to 


262    THE   LAUNCHING   OF  A  UNIVERSITY 

Grote,  the  historian  of  Greece,  who  had  no  academic  life; 
to  Whittier,  Howells,  and  Cable,  our  own  gifted  contempo- 
raries, and  to  many  more  writers  who  never  went  to  college ; 
and  I  confess  that  such  examples  seem  at  first  to  show  that 
colleges  are  not  essential  to  literary  culture.  But  we  must 
remember  that  our  institutions  are  not  devised  for  an  oli- 
garchy of  intellect,  but  for  a  democracy ;  not  for  a  few  royal 
dignitaries,  but  for  a  throng  of  faithful  workers.  In  a 
recent  biography  of  Spinoza  you  may  meet  this  pithy  saying: 
"  The  secret  workings  of  nature,  which  bring  it  to  pass 
that  an  ^schylus,  a  Leonardo,  a  Faraday,  a  Kant,  or  a 
Spinoza  is  born  upon  earth  are  as  obscure  now  as  they  were 
a  thousand  years  ago ; "  and  if  this  be  admitted,  surely  col- 
leges are  not  to  be  built  up  and  maintained  for  such  extraordi- 
nary phenomena.  We  call  these  men  gifted;  we  say  they 
have  genius;  we  except  them  from  rules.  They  will  win 
renown  under  any  circumstances,  hindered,  but  not  re- 
pressed, by  acting  parts  in  a  theatre,  like  Shakespeare;  or 
setting  type  in  a  printing  house,  like  Franklin ;  or  managing 
a  bank,  like  Grote;  or  learning  the  trade  of  a  book-binder, 
like  Faraday.  It  is  neither  for  the  genius  nor  for  the  dunce, 
but  for  the  great  middle  class  possessing  ordinary  talents 
that  we  build  colleges;  and  it  can  be  proved  beyond  the 
shadow  of  a  doubt  that  for  them  the  opportunities  afforded  by 
libraries,  teachers,  companionship,  and  the  systematic  recur- 
rence of  intellectual  tasks  are  most  efficient  means  of  intel- 
lectual culture.  Mental  discipline  may  indeed  be  acquired 
in  other  ways;  the  love  of  letters  is  not  implanted  by  a  col- 
lege; the  study  of  nature  may  be  pursued  alone  in  the  open 
air;  but  given  to  each  one  in  a  group  of  a  hundred  youths, 
a  certain  amount  of  talent,  more  than  mediocrity  and  less  than 
genius, — that  is  to  say,  the  average  ability  of  a  boy  in  our  high 
schools  and  academies,  and  it  will  happen  in  nine  cases  out  of 
ten,  that  those  who  go  to  college  surpass  the  others  during 
the  course  of  life,  in  influence,  in  learning,  in  the  power  to  do 


DAWN   OF  A  UNIVERSITY  263 

good,  and  in  the  enjoyment  of  books,  nature,  and  art.  Men- 
tal powers  may  be  developed  in  other  places — the  me- 
chanics' institute,  the  mercantile  library,  the  winter  lyceum, 
the  private  study,  the  gatherings  of  good  men,  in  the  haunts 
of  business,  and  in  the  walks  of  civil  life,  but  not  so  easily, 
nor  so  systematically,  nor  so  thoroughly,  nor  so  auspiciously, 
nor  so  pleasantly.  With  all  their  defects,  colleges  are  the 
best  agencies  which  the  world  has  ever  devised  for  the  train- 
ing of  the  intellectual  forces  of  youth. 

But  this  is  not  all  that  colleges  effect.  Let  us  in  the 
second  place  remember  that  they  hold  up  before  succes- 
sive generations  all  that  has  been  inherited  from  the  past. 
So  long  as  our  religious  faith  is  based  upon  the  sacred 
Scriptures,  so  long  must  we  train  up  men  who  can  ex- 
pound to  us  the  Greek  and  Hebrew  writings.  The  history 
of  the  Christian  church  would  be  a  sealed  book  were 
there  not  scholars  to  interpret  the  Greek  and  Latin  fathers. 
The  charm  of  Homer,  the  dramas  of  Sophocles,  the  elo- 
quence of  Demosthenes  would  be  dead  indeed  if  our  scholars 
neglected  Greek.  The  rediscovery  of  the  Pandects  of  Jus- 
tinian exerted  upon  modern  society  an  influence  which 
cannot  be  estimated.  We  should  be  hardly  conscious  of 
our  kinship  with  other  nations  were  the  study  of  comparative 
philology  neglected.  Our  own  government  and  laws  can- 
not be  understood  unless  traced  to  their  sources  in  early 
English  and  Teutonic  ways.  Our  most  familiar  ideas  of 
social  life,  the  village  community,  the  constable,  the  select- 
man, the  parish,  even  the  pound,  have  all  been  shown  to  be 
historic  growths,  or  survivals  from  ancient  developments, 
and,  to  appreciate  their  hold  upon  us,  we  must  know  their 
history.  Colleges  cherish  such  studies.  They  encourage 
their  teachers  to  understand  Man,  his  origin,  his  nature, 
his  deeds,  his  possibilities,  his  destiny.  One  great  group  of 
studies  used  to  be  always  called  "  the  Humanities  " — a  name 
that  should  not  be  allowed  to  perish.  Colleges  remind  us  of 


264    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A  UNIVERSITY 

the  conditions  of  permanent  success.  They  keep  us  familiar 
with  the  writers,  the  orators,  the  philosophers,  the  discoverers 
of  every  age  and  in  every  land,  and  they  hold  up  to  our 
thought  this  divine  all-illuminating  truth :  "  Beyond  the 
things  which  are  seen  and  temporal  are  the  things  which  are 
unseen  and  eternal." 

A  good  college  gives  training  in  the  arts  of  expression, 
as  well  as  in  those  of  observation;  it  not  only  favours  the 
acquisition  of  knowledge  by  its  students,  but  it  shows  them 
how  to  bring  forth  their  knowledge  for  the  benefit  of  others. 
This  function  of  a  college  has  not  always  been  sufficiently 
developed.  The  learning  of  appointed  lessons,  the  mem- 
orising of  rules  and  dates,  the  solution  of  problems,  and 
the  observation  or  performance  of  experiments,  all  this  is 
undoubtedly  good  discipline,  but  it  is  not  enough.  The 
scholar  should  be  able  to  express  himself  clearly  and  con- 
cisely, and  there  are  very  few,  indeed,  who  can  do  this 
without  long  and  careful  practice.  I  have  talked  with  some 
of  the  leading  publishers  of  American  books,  regarding  the 
manuscript  submitted  to  them,  and  I  have  spoken  with 
editors  of  the  very  best  magazines,  and  from  both  these 
sources,  which  are,  doubtless,  perfectly  well  informed,  I 
received  the  same  impression,  that  this  country  is  now  pro- 
lific in  writers,  but  that  the  number  of  trained  literary  men 
who  can  write  well,  and  make  of  literature  a  profession,  is 
very  small.  There  are  many  who  are  eager  to  print  their 
effusions,  but  there  are  few  who  are  willing  to  elaborate 
their  work,  re-writing,  re-arranging,  pruning,  condensing, 
until  the  best  form  is  attained.  It  is  a  mistake  to 
suppose  that  writers  who  win  the  highest  renown  are  com- 
monly hasty,  that  they  dash  off  what  they  say  by  a  stroke  of 
genuis.  The  biography  of  Dickens  shows  what  pains  he 
took  even  to  secure  the  right  proper  names;  for  example, 
note  his  choice  of  the  title  "  Household  Words."  Pages 
of  his  proof  sheets,  which  I  have  seen,  show  how  carefully 


DAWN   OF  A  UNIVERSITY  265 

he  revised  every  paragraph.  The  very  last  proofs  of  "  Pev- 
eril  of  the  Peak"  (owned  by  President  White)  show  that 
a  romance  of  Walter  Scott  received  the  master's  final 
touches  just  before  the  printing  began.  Bret  Harte's  famous 
poem  on  the  "  Heathen  Chinee "  was  corrected  and  re- 
corrected,  and  on  the  ultimate  revision  received,  I  believe, 
that  satirical  touch,  "  We  are  ruined  by  Chinese  cheap 
labour."  Emerson  is  considered  by  many  as  a  sort  of  oracle, 
simply  opening  his  mouth  to  let  fall  aphorisms  of  profound 
wisdom,  but  recent  and  authentic  narratives  of  his  life 
show  that  he  forged  his  sentences  like  the  gold-beater  who 
is  preparing  a  setting  for  pearls.  One  of  his  biographers 
(Mr.  Cook)  has  taken  the  pains  to  trace  the  genesis  of  some 
of  his  favourite  writings  and  well-known  phrases.  "  The 
published  essays,"  he  says,  "  are  often  the  results  of  many 
lectures — the  most  pregnant  sentences  and  paragraphs  alone 
being  retained.  His  apples  are  sorted  over  and  over  again 
until  only  the  very  rarest,  the  most  perfect,  are  left.  It 
does  not  matter  that  those  thrown  away  are  very  good — they 
are  unmercifully  cast  aside.  His  essays  are  consequently 
very  slowly  elaborated,  wrought  out  through  days,  and 
months,  and  even  years  of  patient  thought." 

You  may  think  it  very  trifling  for  me  to  speak  of  pen- 
manship, but  I  cannot  refrain  from  telling  a  story  of  one 
of  the  most  illustrious  mathematicians  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  whose  great  treatise  lay  unnoticed  for  nearly  three 
years  in  the  archives  of  the  French  Academy,  because,  as 
Legendre  himself  acknowledged,  it  was  almost  illegible,  being 
written  with  very  faint  ink,  and  the  characters  being  badly 
formed.  Resurgent  from  the  temporary  grave  to  which  its 
bad  penmanship  consigned  it,  this  treatise  of  Abel's  became 
the  point  of  departure  for  profound  researches,  still  in 
progress  fifty  years  later,  by  Cayley  in  Cambridge  and 
Sylvester  in  Baltimore.  All  this  seems  to  me  to  indicate  that 
training,  imposed  by  one's  self  or  by  one's  teacher,  is 


266    THE  LAUNCHING  OF  A  UNIVERSITY 

essential  to  literary  success.  Colleges  provide  such  training. 
Colleges,  moreover,  invite  us  to  the  study  of  nature,  the 
earth  and  the  stars,  the  laws  of  number  and  of  force,  the 
forms  and  functions  of  animal  and  vegetable  life,  and  the 
elements  of  matter.  What  Ruskin  eloquently  advises,  the 
college  teaches  by  appropriate  methods.  "  Go  to  Nature," 
he  says,  "  in  all  singleness  of  heart  and  walk  with  her 
laboriously  and  trustingly,  having  no  other  thoughts  but 
how  best  to  penetrate  her  meaning;  and  remember  her  in- 
struction— rejecting  nothing,  selecting  nothing,  and  scorn- 
ing nothing;  believing  all  things  to  be  right  and  good,  and 
rejoicing  alway  in  the  truth." 

In  coming  here,  I  happened  to  bring  the  writings  of  two 
very  different  men ;  one  a  typical  American,  James  A.  Gar- 
field,  the  other  a  master  of  English  culture,  Matthew 
Arnold;  President  Garfield,  college  president  as  he  was, 
before  he  entered  the  service  of  the  State,  complains  of  the 
failure  of  our  schools  and  colleges  to  fit  men  for  life;  and 
likewise  Matthew  Arnold,  the  poet,  the  man  of  letters,  the 
defender  of  Greek  culture,  declaims  with  equal  vehemence, 
against  the  want  of  modern  science  in  our  modern  education, 
and  berates  the  rule  of  thumb  which  costs  us  so  dearly.  If 
two  such  differing  doctors  agree,  the  evil  must  be  real. 
To  remedy  this  evil,  teachers  and  trustees  must  recognise 
the  changing  conditions  of  modern  life,  its  perils  and  its 
privileges,  and  adapt  their  work  to  new  conditions.  Let 
me  call  attention  to  one  of  the  new  conditions  which  require 
consideration. 

Among  the  chief  pursuits  of  the  Mississippi  valley  is  the 
business  of  building  towns.  This  the  census  shows.  The 
centre  of  population,  which  was  once  at  Baltimore,  has  been 
steadily  moving  inland  on  the  line  of  the  thirty-ninth  parallel. 
At  the  latest  observation,  it  rested  a  little  beyond  the  south- 
western corner  of  Ohio.  In  the  great  Mississippi  valley  the 
preponderance  of  numbers  is  now  manifest;  the  prepond- 


DAWN   OF  A  UNIVERSITY  267 

erance  likewise  of  political  power;  may  I  not  say  the  pre- 
ponderance also  of  influential  statesmen?  May  I  venture 
to  add  of  literary  ability,  when  I  remember  that  Howells 
was  born  on  the  borders  of  Lake  Erie  and  Cable  in  New 
Orleans?  Shall  we  not  soon  be  obliged  to  say  that  great 
towns  preponderate  here? 

More  than  one-fourth  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  United 
States  are  characterised  by  the  statisticians  as  urban, — that 
is,  as  dwelling  in  towns  and  cities.  West  of  the  Alleghenies, 
there  are  already  one  hundred  and  three  towns  having  each 
above  10,000  people.  This  indicates  that  the  population  of 
the  Mississippi  valley,  remarkable  as  that  region  is  for  its 
marvellous  agricultural  advantages,  tends  toward  the  central 
life  of  a  city  or  town.  Every  one  of  these  civic  communities 
should  be  organised  and  governed  in  the  light  of  modern 
science,  and  should  employ  an  urban  engineer  as  its  paid 
adviser  in  all  that  pertains  to  the  application  of  modern 
science  to  convenience,  comfort  and  health.  I  will  not  here 
expand  this  suggestion,  but  I  am  sure  that  there  is  a  new 
profession  for  which  young  men  may  be  trained,  and  in 
which  they  may  render  just  as  valuable  service  as  is  given 
by  the  legal  adviser  or  the  superintendent  of  schools.  Our 
civil  service  will  not  be  completely  reformed  until  municipal 
arrangements,  which  affect  the  property,  the  comfort,  the 
health,  and  even  the  life  of  the  citizens,  are  directed  by  the 
counsel  and  authority  of  a  man  of  liberal  education,  trained 
in  all  that  pertains  to  the  requirements  of  a  well  ordered 
town. 

It  is  of  great  importance,  I  claim,  in  advocating  the  study 
of  nature,  to  keep  before  the  public  sound  views  of  the  in- 
terdependence of  theoretical  and  applied  science.  They  go 
hand  in  hand  promoting  human  progress.  Applied  science 
needs  no  fostering  care,  for  capital  is  always  ready  to  seize 
upon  good  inventions  and  turn  them  to  account;  witness 
the  steam  engine  and  the  telegraph.  On  the  contrary,  pure 


268    THE   LAUNCHING   OF  A   UNIVERSITY 

science  does  need  encouragement  and  support;  and  that 
support  must  be  given  by  universities  and  colleges.  It  is 
not  their  exclusive  province,  I  admit,  but  they  are  wanted 
to  furnish  such  aid,  generously,  persistently,  and  without 
reference  to  immediate  results. 

Recent  circumstances  have  called  universal  attention  to 
electricity,  and  as  the  progress  of  this  science  affords  a  good 
example  of  the  doctrine  I  am  endeavouring  to  enforce,  I 
propose  to  dwell  upon  it. 

There  is  now  in  session  at  Paris  an  international  com- 
mission of  scientific  experts.  It  is  not  a  congress,  nor  a  con- 
vention, but  a  select  assembly  of  eminent  physicists,  delegated 
by  their  respective  governments  to  discuss  theories  and  de- 
termine methods,  which  may  be  applied  in  every  part  of  the 
civilised  world  to  the  solution  of  electrical  problems.  They 
constitute  a  sort  of  international  academy  of  physical  science, 
an  Ecole  des  Hautes  Etudes  in  physics,  such  as  the  world  had 
never  seen  before.  The  appointment  of  this  commission  is 
due  to  the  action  of  a  much  larger  body  which  assembled 
last  year,  in  connection  with  an  exhibition  of  electrical  ap- 
paratus and  appliances  held  in  the  Trocadero.  This  assembly 
drew  up,  after  long  consideration,  a  series  of  propositions 
to  be  discussed  by  the  more  select  body,  which  has  now  been 
convened.  The  inquiries  proposed  are  based  on  all  that 
has  hitherto  been  discovered  and  invented,  and  indicate  the 
problems  which  need  international  conference  for  their  com- 
plete solution. 

Cleveland  need  not  be  reminded  of  the  uses  of  electricity. 
You  would  agree  with  Professor  Mascart,  of  Paris,  who 
said  that  the  world  not  only  demands  the  transmission  of 
thought,  speech,  and  light  by  electricity,  but  also  the  per- 
formance of  mechanical  work.  You  would  not  think  M. 
Dumas  extravagant  in  closing  the  congress  with  the  remark, 
that  "  the  nineteenth  century  will  be  known  as  the  century 
of  electricity," — as  the  fifteenth  has  been  called  the  century 


DAWN   OF  A  UNIVERSITY  269 

of  geographical  discoveries.  But  it  may  be  worth  while  to 
remind  you  that  these  achievements  have  been  accomplished 
almost  within  the  range  of  one  long  life.  Prior  to  Franklin, 
who  flew  his  famous  kite  in  1752,  the  relation  of  electricity 
and  lightning  was  unknown;  even  his  experiments  were  at 
first  received  with  incredulity  and  ridicule.  Galvani  was 
experimenting  on  his  frogs,  as  he  sailed  from  Sinigaglia  to 
Rimini  in  1795.  Coulomb,  not  far  from  the  same  time,  in- 
vented the  torsion  balance.  Volta  was  called  to  Paris  in 
1802  to  receive  for  his  discovery  of  the  voltaic  pile  that 
great  prize  which  in  1881  was  bestowed  upon  Alexander 
Graham  Bell. 

Before  men  could  cable  a  dispatch,  or  speak  through  a 
telephone,  or  read  by  an  electric  light,  or  travel  by  an  electric 
motor,  the  two  forces  of  abstract  science  and  industrial  skill 
had  been  working  together  through  seven  or  eight  decades 
of  this  century,  from  Volta  to  Edison.  The  torch  of  science 
had  been  handed  from  one  genius  to  another.  Now  it  was 
in  Italy,  now  in  France,  now  in  Germany,  now  in  Great 
Britain,  now  in  America.  At  one  time  the  light  was  held 
in  the  hands  of  pure  science;  at  another,  of  ingenious  art. 
Discoveries  thus  effected  wrought  greater  changes  in  com- 
merce than  the  discovery  of  the  passage  around  the  Cape; 
greater  modifications  in  domestic  life  than  any  invention  since 
the  days  of  Gutenberg  and  Faust. 

But  I  wish  to  bring  forward  the  fact  that  in  all  this 
progress  the  educational  foundations  contributed  that  which 
was  fundamental  and  indispensable, — though  they  have 
rarely  received  credit  for  their  part.  Volta  was  a  professor 
in  Pavia  when  he  discovered  the  voltaic  pile,  and  Ohm  was 
a  professor  in  Munich  when  he  won  "  the  blue  ribbon  of 
science,"  the  Copley  medal  of  London.  It  was  in  the 
University  of  Gottingen  that  Gauss  and  Weber  pursued 
their  mathematical  researches;  it  was  the  Royal  Institution 
of  London  which  discovered  and  fostered  the  genius  of 


270    THE   LAUNCHING  OF  A  UNIVERSITY 

Faraday ;  it  was  in  the  laboratories  of  Scotland  and  Germany 
that  Kelvin  and  Helmholtz  won  renown;  it  was  from 
the  lyceum  at  Lyons  that  Ampere  was  called  to  the  Poly- 
technic School  of  Paris;  it  was  in  the  Albany  Academy  that 
Joseph  Henry  began  his  discoveries.  Without  their  hidden 
labours  we  should  not  have  seen  the  conspicuous  triumphs 
of  modern  electrical  art.  Without  the  encouragement  of 
just  such  men  as  these,  in  future,  the  electrical  arts  will 
stand  where  they  are, — and  the  results,  which  seem  to  be  so 
near  at  hand,  will  recede  like  the  waters  which  surrounded 
Tantalus. 

For  the  last  fifty  years  pure  mathematics  has  been  in 
partnership  with  experimental  observation.  Indeed,  it  was 
not  until  men,  trained  by  the  exact  methods  of  mathematical 
science,  discussed  the  fundamental  theories  that  the  inventor's 
work  began.  Neither  method  could  have  led  to  such  practical 
results  without  the  other's  aid.  But  popular  applause  and 
pecuniary  gains  have  rarely  been  given  to  the  elaborators  of 
a  theory.  It  is  therefore  the  duty  of  a  university  to  cherish 
and  encourage  such  men, — all  the  more  earnestly  because  the 
part  of  a  theorist  in  the  promotion  of  an  art  is  likely  to  be 
abstract  and  hidden,  little  talked  about  and  inadequately 
rewarded. 

It  is  a  slight  but  just  recognition  of  such  services  that 
in  technical  terminology,  employed  in  every  land  by  the 
practical  electricians,  the  names  of  these  quiet  workers  in 
the  laboratory  and  the  den  are  to  be  constantly  repeated, — 
and  the  Ohm,  the  Volt,  the  Ampere,  'the  Coulomb,  and 
the  Farad  will  forever  echo  in  every  tongue  the  names  of 
those  physicists  who  have  made  possible  by  their  researches 
the  modern  arts  of  electricity. 

The  munificence  of  Americans  is  one  of  the  admirable 
forces  now  moulding  human  society.  It  surprises  the  peo- 
ple of  other  lands;  it  surprises  ourselves.  Every  new  gift 
begets  another.  When  the  genealogy  of  education  comes  to 


DAWN   OF  A  UNIVERSITY  271 

be  written,  we  shall  read  that  old  England  begat  New 
England,  and  Cambridge  begat  New  Haven,  old  Connecticut 
begat  new  Connecticut,  Yale  begat  the  college  at  Hud- 
son, and  the  college  at  Hudson  begat  the  Western  Re- 
serve University  at  Cleveland,  with  its  allied  founda- 
tions. 

I  now  turn  to  the  local  aspects  of  the  problem.  The 
transfer  of  a  well-planted  institution  to  another  site  more 
than  twenty  miles  distant,  the  establishment  of  a  great  school 
of  science  in  close  proximity,  the  proposed  removal  of  a 
professional  school  to  the  same  neighbourhood,  and  the 
adoption  of  the  name  "  University,"  the  loftiest  term  in  all 
the  vocabulary  of  education,  clearly  indicate  a  tendency  to 
do  more  than  has  yet  been  done  for  the  higher  education  in 
this  region.  The  movers  in  these  enterprises  must  have  more 
than  human  skill  if  they  can  carry  all  these  projects  forward 
without  friction.  I  have  not  heard  of  any  such  interruptions 
in  New  Connecticut  as  occurred  in  Old  Connecticut,  when 
the  infant  collegiate  school,  which  has  become  the  university 
of  Yale  College,  was  removed  to  New  Haven  from  the 
town  of  Saybrook.  The  story  goes  that  the  people  along 
the  shore  line  were  so  indignant  at  the  change  of  base  that  they 
stopped  the  carts  which  were  transporting  the  books,  and 
in  the  melee  the  library  was  scattered.  Order  was  restored 
by  an  appeal  to  the  Governor.  There  is  no  such  danger 
here. 

New  life  begins  with  pain.  New  inventions  and  dis- 
coveries disturb  existing  usages,  and  for  the  day  seem  to 
bring  harm  rather  than  good.  Progress  is  not  favourable 
to  repose,  and  repose  is  the  scholar's  paradise.  No  one  will 
wonder  if  the  changes  now  going  forward,  which  look  so 
hopeful  from  the  outside,  are  attended  with  some  regret 
within  the  circle.  Of  any  such  details  I  am  ignorant ;  I  speak 
only  of  the  ordinary  feelings  of  human  nature.  At  the  same 


272    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

time,  I  am  so  sure  that  the  sun  is  rising  upon  Cleveland  that 
I  welcome  the  clouds  which  herald  the  dawn.  They  mark 
the  movement  of  the  morning's  chariot.  But  not  here  alone. 
The  most  casual  observer  of  educational  progress  in  this 
country  must  perceive  that  the  Nation  is  entering  upon  what 
might  be  termed  the  university  epoch.  Our  common  school 
system  is  established,  we  have  an  abundance  of  colleges — 
now  comes  the  day  for  a  few  great,  comprehensive,  well- 
ordered,  and  well-endowed  universities.  It  is  easy  to  see 
that  not  only  Cambridge  and  New  Haven,  but  Ithaca,  and 
Ann  Arbor,  and  Baltimore,  are  advancing  upon  the  uni- 
versity plane.  But  what  is  a  university?  Let  me  answer  in 
the  words  of  one  already  quoted. 

Matthew  Arnold  says :  the  university  "  ought  to  pro- 
vide facilities,  after  the  general  education  is  finished,  for 
the  young  man  to  go  on  in  the  line  where  his  special  aptitudes 
lead  him,  be  it  that  of  languages  and  literature,  of  math- 
ematics, of  the  natural  sciences,  of  the  application  of  these 
sciences,  or  any  other  line,  and  follow  the  studies  of  this 
line  systematically,  under  first-rate  teaching." 

Again,  "  The  idea  of  a  university  is,  as  I  have  already 
said,  that  of  an  institution  not  only  offering  to  young  men 
facilities  for  graduating  in  that  line  of  study  to  which  their 
aptitudes  direct  them,  but  offering  to  them  also  facilities 
for  following  that  line  of  study  systematically  under  first- 
rate  instruction.  This  second  function  is  of  incalculable 
importance,  of  far  greater  importance  even  than  the  first. 
It  is  impossible  to  overvalue  the  importance  to  a  young  man 
of  being  brought  in  contact  with  a  first-rate  teacher  of  his 
matter  of  study,  and  of  getting  from  him  a  clear  notion  of 
what  the  systematic  study  of  it  means." 

To  promote  this  idea  two  things  are  necessary,  concen- 
tration and  co-operation.  Funds,  plans,  and  teachers  must 
be  united  so  that  without  rivalry  or  needless  repetition  all 
the  forces  of  advanced  education  in  a  given  community  may 


DAWN   OF   A   UNIVERSITY  273 

be  combined  to  advance  the  projects  in  view.  It  is  not 
necessary  for  any  member  of  the  group  to  lose  its  individ- 
uality. The  college  and  the  school  of  science  need  not  give 
up  their  dignity  and  independence  because  they  are  affiliated 
in  a  university.  There  must  be  a  plan  akin  to  that  worked 
out  in  political  life,  a  balance  of  powers,  so  that  while  local 
rights  are  preserved,  the  general  interests  are  promoted.  The 
problem  is  not  easy,  but  its  solution  suggests  far  fewer 
difficulties  than  those  which  beset  our  national  government. 
May  not  the  parallel  be  carried  further?  As  this  nation 
began  with  local  institutions,  then  proceeded  to  confederated 
action,  and  finally  reached  the  idea  of  a  federal  republic,  in 
which  the  rights  of  States  were  protected  and  the  wider  ad- 
vantages of  a  union  were  secured;  so  may  it  be  in  our  edu- 
cational progress.  There  will  be  many  colleges  grouped 
under  the  aegis  of  a  true  university. 

But  a  university  is  a  good  deal  more  than  a  federation 
of  colleges.  It  is  the  exponent  of  this  idea,  that  beyond  the 
work  of  any  college  is  the  work  of  all  the  colleges  of  the 
group.  Instruction  far  beyond  the  curriculum  of  a  college 
may  be  given  by  the  united  forces  of  the  university ;  libraries 
and  collections,  far  more  extensive  than  a  college  needs, 
are  needed  for  the  university;  examinations  and  degrees, 
more  dignified  and  stimulating  than  a  college  can  offer,  may 
be  sought  in  the  broader  arena  of  university  competition.  I 
only  hint  at  a  few  distinctions  which  cannot  fully  be  set 
forth  in  a  popular  discourse.  Fortunate  will  it  be  for 
Cleveland,  if  the  idea  is  unfolded  in  many  speeches  and 
reports,  in  many  conferences  and  debates,  in  sunshine  and 
in  showers,  till  at  last  the  bud  ripens  and  the  fruit  appears. 

In  thinking  of  the  future,  which  may  be  at  hand,  nearer 
perhaps  than  most  of  us  are  aware,  when  Cleveland  will  be 
the  seat  of  a  university,  in  fact  as  well  as  in  name,  when 
liberal  provision  will  be  made  for  the  prosecution  of  all 
branches  of  knowledge,  I  have  been  led  to  consider  the 


274    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

foundations  of  other  high  schools,  not  only  at  home,  but 
abroad;  to  recall  the  munificence  which  at  one  time  made 
Florence  the  seat  of  culture;  at  another,  made  Edin- 
burgh resemble  in  its  opportunities,  as  well  as  in  its 
aspects,  the  ancient  seat  of  Grecian  literature;  which  again 
made  Leyden  bloom  after  the  desolations  of  a  long  siege; 
Berlin  to  rise  from  its  depression  after  the  French  invasion ; 
Strassburg  to  come  forward  with  new  life  after  its  bombard- 
ment; and,  permit  me  to  add,  made  Baltimore,  at  the  close 
of  our  war  and  of  our  reconstruction  period,  the  centre  of 
influences  in  science  and  art,  so  varied  and  so  good  as  to 
be  an  example  to  other  cities.  Each  new  gift,  as  it  comes  to 
maturity,  becomes  the  parent  of  some  noble  offspring. 

'But  I  bring  before  you  another  example,  the  University 
of  Gottingen,  because  the  lessons  of  its  history  are  pecu- 
liarly instructive  to  Americans,  and  especially  interesting 
if  we  trace  its  influence  upon  the  civilisation  of  our  country. 

It  is  worth  while  for  the  citizens  of  Cleveland,  engaged 
in  founding  a  university,  to  ask  what  has  given  Gottingen 
its  power. 

Is  it  age  ?  No ;  it  is  younger  than  Yale,  and  Harvard,  and 
William  and  Mary.  It  is  an  infant  in  years  when  com- 
pared with  Bologna  and  Prague.  The  date  of  its  founda- 
tion is  1737. 

Has  it  the  attractions  of  a  fine  city — a  court  and  its  sur- 
roundings ?  No ;  it  was  a  "  dull  little  place,"  said  Haller, 
when  he  went  to  it.  Even  now  it  has  but  20,000  inhabi- 
tants. It  can  not  be  compared  with  Munich,  Berlin,  or 
Vienna.  Heine,  in  his  "  Pictures  of  Travel,"  begins  with 
a  fearful  description  of  the  city.  "  It  pleases  most,"  he  says, 
"  when  looked  at  backwards." 

Has  it  a  choice  natural  situation?  No;  it  is  on  a  broad 
plain,  remote  from  the  sea,  without  near  high  hills;  it  does 
not  compare  in  position  with  Heidelberg  or  Geneva,  with 
New  Haven  or  West  Point. 


DAWN   OF  A  UNIVERSITY  275 

d  > 

Has  it  splendid  architecture?  No;  in  early  times,  only 
the  plainest  buildings.  The  houses  of  Heeren  and  Heyne 
were  united  under  one  roof  for  the  needed  class-rooms. 
Even  now  there  are  only  the  simple  academic  requisites. 
An  American  studying  in  Gottingen  in  1825  has  recorded 
the  fact  that  he  could  discover  nothing  to  remind  him  of 
a  university — except  the  students. 

Has  it  large  landed  estates  or  other  hereditary  endow- 
ments? No;  it  has  depended  on  the  appropriations  of  the 
state  and  the  fees  of  the  students. 

Was  it  supported  by  the  Presbyterians,  or  the  Episco- 
palians, or  the  Methodists,  or  the  Baptists,  and  did  it  care 
to  choose  its  professors  from  the  dominant  denomination? 
No;  its  religious  teachings  were  on  the  broad  basis  of 
evangelical  theology. 

Did  its  crew  ever  beat  the  students  of  Bonn  in  a  boat- 
race,  or  challenge  the  university  of  Rostock  to  a  game  of 
ball?  Not  that  I  ever  heard  of. 

Did  it  have  a  campus  for  athletic  sports?  No;  but  there 
were  attractive  excursions  around  the  village  and  a  fine 
promenade  upon  the  old  municipal  wall,  where  professors 
and  students  took  their  daily  "  constitutionals." 

What,  then,  gave  to  Gottingen  its  power?  I  answer,  two 
things — wise  methods  and  great  men. 

Miinchhausen,  the  elector's  minister,  was  the  organiser 
of  the  work,  and  his  plans  to  place  the  infant  institution 
upon  a  foundation  superior  to  any  in  Germany,  are  at 
this  day  models  of  instruction  to  Cleveland  and  to  Balti- 
more. His  wise  methods  secured  great  teachers;  great 
teachers  drew  able  scholars;  those  able  scholars  carried  to 
distant  lands  the  lessons  they  had  learned.  Think  what 
Americans  were  drawn  there — Everett,  Bancroft,  Motley, 
Gould,  Child,  Lane,  Goodwin,  Gildersleeve,  Remsen,  and 
many  more.  Think  what  a  library  has  been  formed  there 
— 300,000  volumes  and  5,000  manuscripts.  Think  what 


276    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

illustrious  teachers  have  there  taught — Haller  and  Blumen- 
bach,  princes  of  anatomy;  Michaelis  and  Ewald,  chiefs  of 
Biblical  and  Oriental  learning;  Heyne  and  Otfried  Miiller 
and  Carl  F.  Hermann  in  classical  lore;  the  Grimms  in 
Teutonic  philology;  Benfey  in  Sanskrit;  Heeren  in  history; 
Weber  and  Gauss,  duces  et  principes  in  mathematics  and 
physics;  Wohler,  whose  death  is  just  announced,  in  chem- 
istry. Think  how  these  men  have  affected  our  own  country 
by  their  writings.  The  religious  mind,  next  to  the  study 
of  the  gospels,  turns  to  the  history  of  the  Jewish  church. 
Whose  history  is  popular?  Stanley's;  and  from  whom  did 
his  inspiration  come?  From  Ewald  of  Gottingen.  You 
may  find  his  reference  to  his  teacher  in  the  second  volume 
of  his  Jewish  history.  Ewald,  when  Stanley  first  met  him, 
had  in  his  hand  a  small  Greek  testament.  "  In  this  little 
book,"  he  said,  "  is  contained  all  the  wisdom  of  the  world." 
"  To  listen  to  Ewald,"  he  says,  "  after  ordinary  teachers 
was  like  passing  from  the  dust  and  turmoil  of  the  street  into 
the  depth  and  grandeur  of  an  ancient  cathedral."  Who 
among  the  fathers  was  the  most  patient  and  systematic  and 
thorough  student  of  the  history  of  the  United  States?  Ban- 
croft. Who  was  his  teacher?  Heeren,  of  Gottingen. 
Whence  came  the  modern  treatise  on  waves  which  is  at 
the  basis  of  investigations  in  physics?  From  Weber,  of 
Gottingen,  when  he  was  still  a  student,  only  twenty-one 
years  old. 

It  is  thus  that  a  university  is  developed :  First,  there  must 
be  wise  plans;  second,  sufficient  funds;  third,  powerful 
teachers;  then  will  come,  fourth,  many  students;  fifth,  great 
collections;  sixth,  world-wide  influence  and  renown. 

Such  an  opportunity  now  presents  itself  to  the  citizens  of 
this  city  and  this  region.  I  do  not  know  what  measure  of 
wisdom,  patience,  and  conciliation  may  be  possessed  by  those 
who  are  leaders  in  these  new  movements.  Personally  they 
are  almost  all  strangers  to  me — but  their  works  are  known 


DAWN   OF   A   UNIVERSITY  277 

and  read  of  all  men.  Here  are  sound  traditions,  intelligent 
people,  well-organized  schools,  munificent  gifts,  high  ideals; 
the  auspicious  beginnings  of  a  college,  a  school  of  science, 
and  a  school  of  medicine  are  visible  already.  When  will 
come  the  university  with  its  great  library,  laboratories  and 
museums,  its  college  of  law  and  of  theology,  its  college  for 
women,  its  observatory,  and  its  institute  for  physical  research, 
its  schools  of  the  fine  arts  and  of  music,  its  hospital,  and  its 
gymnasium?  I  cannot  tell;  but  you,  the  wise,  the  strong, 
the  rich  and  the  liberal  citizens  of  Cleveland  can  make  the 
answer  what  you  will. 

Remembering  that  the  buildings  opened  to-day  are  the 
buildings  of  Adelbert  College,  and  that  Adelbert  College 
is  but  one  member  of  the  University  that  will  bear  the  name 
of  Western  Reserve,  strive  to  secure  affiliations  among 
kindred  institutions  which  have  been  or  may  be  founded  in 
this  region,  for  in  union  there  is  strength. 

"  "Pis  always  Morning  somewhere  in  the  world," 

and  I  congratulate  you  that  to-day  we  behold  the  Dawn  of 
a  University  in  Cleveland. 

"  So  having  gathered  violets,  reap  the  corn, 

And  having  reaped  and  garnered  bring  the  plough, 
And  draw  new  furrows  'neath  the  healthy  morn 
And  plant  the  great  hereafter  in  the  now." 


HAND-CRAFT  AND  REDE-CRAFT 


This  paper,  first  published  in  the  Century  Magazine 
for  October,  1886,  was  also  printed  for  general  distribu- 
tion elsewhere.     It  was  prepared  for  delivery  at  the  an- 
niversary of  the  Maryland  Institute  of  Baltimore. 


XVI 

HAND-CRAFT  AND  REDE-CRAFT — A   PLEA  FOR  THB 
FIRST    NAMED 

CALLS  for  more  handicraft  have  been  heard  of  late  in  many 
portions  of  this  land, — sometimes  a  call  for  higher  skill  in  the 
use  of  fingers  and  arms, — and  sometimes  a  call  for  the  wider 
spread  of  such  skill  among  the  people  at  large.  Just  now  we 
wish  to  speak  of  some  of  the  general  aspects  of  a  movement 
which  is  very  complex  as  well  as  general,  and  at  the  same  time 
is  full  of  promise  and  hope. 

We  begin  by  using  the  word  handicraft,  for  that  is  the 
form  to  which  we  are  wonted  in  speech  and  in  print ;  but  we 
rather  like  the  old  form,  "  hand-craft,"  which  was  used  by 
our  sires  so  long  ago  as  Anglo-Saxon  days.  Neither  form  is 
in  vogue,  as  we  know  very  well,  for  people  choose  nowadays 
such  Latin  words  as  technical  ability,  industrial  pursuits, 
manual  labour,  dexterity,  professional  artisanship,  manufac- 
ture, technological  occupation,  polytechnic  education,  and 
decorative  art,  not  one  of  which  is  half  so  good  as  the  plain, 
old,  strong  term,  handicraft  or  hand-craft.  We  shall  do 
what  we  can  to  bring  back  this  old  friend. 

One  reason  why  we  like  this  word  is  that  it  includes  so 
much,  and  yet  is  so  clear  that  everybody  knows  what  it 
means, — the  power  of  the  hand  to  hold,  shape,  match,  carve, 
paint,  bake,  plough,  or  weave.  Another  reason  why  we  like 
to  say  hand-craft  is  because  of  the  easy  contrast  it  suggests 
with  another  old  word,  which  is  likewise  out  of  vogue,  rede- 
craft,  the  power  to  read,  to  reason,  and  to  think, — or  as  it  is 
said  in  the  book  of  common  prayer,  "  to  read,  mark,  learn, 
and  inwardly  digest."  By  rede-craft  we  find  out  what  other 
men  have  written  down;  we  get  our  book-learning;  we  are 

281 


282    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A  UNIVERSITY 

made  heirs  to  thoughts  that  breathe  and  words  that  burn; 
we  enter  into  the  acts,  the  arts,  the  loves,  the  lore,  the  lives 
of  the  witty,  the  cunning,  and  the  worthy  of  all  ages  and  all 
places. 

Rede-craft  is  not  the  foe,  but  the  friend  of  hand-craft. 
They  are  brothers,  partners,  consorts,  who  should  work  to- 
gether as  right  hand  and  left  hand,  as  science  and  art,  as 
theory  and  practice.  Rede-craft  may  call  for  books,  and 
hand-craft  for  tools,  but  it  is  by  the  help  of  both  books  and 
tools  that  mankind  moves  on.  Their  union  is  as  sacred  as 
the  marriage  tie;  no  divorce  can  be  allowed.  The  pleasure 
and  the  profit  of  modern  life  depend  upon  the  endurance  of 
their  joint  action. 

Indeed,  we  should  not  err  wide  of  the  mark  by  saying  that 
a  book  is  a  tool,  for  it  is  the  instrument  we  make  use  of  in 
certain  cases  when  we  wish  to  find  out  what  other  men  have 
thought  and  done.  There  is  a  sense  in  which  it  is  also  true 
that  a  tool  is  a  book,  the  record  of  past  ages  of  talent  engaged 
in  toil.  Take  a  plough,  for  example.  Compare  the  form  in 
use  to-day  on  a  first-rate  farm  with  that  which  is  pictured 
on  ancient  stones  long  hid  in  Egypt,  ages  old.  See  how  the 
plough  idea  has  grown;  and  bear  in  mind  that  its  graceful 
curves,  its  fitness  for  a  special  soil  or  for  a  special  crop,  its 
labour-saving  shape,  came  not  by  chance,  but  by  thought.  It 
embodies  the  experience  of  many  generations  of  ploughmen. 

Look  upon  a  Collins  axe,  lay  it  by  the  side  of  such  a  toma- 
hawk as  was  used  by  Uncas  or  Miantonomoh,  or  with  a 
hatchet  of  the  age  of  bronze,  and  think  how  many  minds 
have  worked  upon  the  head  and  the  helve;  how  much  skill 
has  been  spent  in  getting  the  metal,  in  making  it  hard,  in 
shaping  the  edge,  in  fixing  the  weight,  in  forming  the  handle. 
Take  a  cambric  needle  and  compare  it  with  the  fish  bone  or 
the  thorn  with  which  savages  sewed  their  hides.  Or  from 
simple  turn  to  complex  tools — the  steam-engine,  the  sewing- 
machine,  the  dynamo,  the  telegraph,  the  ocean  steamer;  all 


HAND-CRAFT  AND   REDE-CRAFT       283 

are  full  of  ideas.  All  are  the  offspring  of  hand-craft  and 
rede-craft,  of  skill  and  thought,  of  practice  put  on  record, 
of  science  and  art.  The  welfare  of  our  land,  of  our  race, 
rests  on  this  union.  We  can  almost  take  the  measure  of 
a  man's  brain  if  we  can  find  out  what  he  sees  and  what  he 
does;  we  can  judge  of  a  country  or  of  a  city  if  we  know 
what  it  makes. 

We  need  not  ask  which  is  the  better,  hand-craft  or  rede- 
craft.  Certainly,  "  the  eye  cannot  say  to  the  hand,  I  have 
no  need  of  thee  " ;  at  times,  indeed,  when  the  eye  is  blind, 
the  hand  takes  its  place,  and  the  fingers  learn  to  read,  run- 
ning over  the  printed  page  to  find  out  what  is  there  as 
quickly  as  the  eye.  To  what  realms  was  Laura  Bridgman, 
sightless  and  speechless,  led  by  the  culture  of  her  touch! 
Helen  Keller's  story  is  more  remarkable. 

It  is  wrong  that  so  many  people,  some  whose  minds  are 
full  of  ideas  and  some  whose  purses  are  full  of  gold  (not  to 
speak  of  those  who  have  neither),  are  prone  to  look  down 
upon  hand-craft.  They  think  only  of  the  tasks  of  a  slave, 
a  drudge,  or  a  char-boy.  They  have  never  tasted  the  pleasure 
of  making,  the  delight  there  is  in  guiding  the  fingers  by  the 
conscious  and  planning  will.  They  like  to  hear,  see,  own, 
or  eat  what  others  have  made,  but  they  know  nothing  of  the 
pleasure  of  production.  Their  minds  may  be  bright,  but 
their  fingers  are  lazy.  Many  such  persons  work  too  long 
and  too  late  with  their  eyes,  poring  over  the  story  of  what 
others  have  done,  and  keeping  their  brains  alert  with  the 
tales  of  other  people's  skill ;  yet  they  never  think  of  finding 
another  sort  of  rest  or  relief  in  the  practice  of  hand-craft. 
If  you  doubt  this,  put  two  notices  in  the  paper,  one  asking  for 
a  workman  and  the  other  for  a  clerk,  and  you  will  see  on 
the  morrow  which  calling  is  popular.  So  it  comes  to  pass 
that  boys  become  men  without  being  trained  to  any  kind  of 
skill;  they  wish,  therefore,  to  be  buyers  and  sellers,  traders 
and  dealers.  The  market,  which  is  poorly  supplied  with 


284    THE   LAUNCHING   OF  A   UNIVERSITY 

those  who  are  trained  in  the  higher  walks  of  hand-craft,  is 
doubtless  overstocked  with  clerks,  bookkeepers,  salesmen, 
and  small  shopkeepers.  Some  young  men  who  are  poor  in 
pocket  and  rich  enough  in  talent  go  to  college,  allowing 
their  mothers  and  their  sisters  to  toil  for  their  support,  and 
many  more  accept  the  gifts  of  unknown  helpers,  and  not 
because  they  prefer  to  do  so,  but  because  they  have  never 
learned  how  to  produce  with  their  own  hands  anything  which 
the  world  is  willing  to  pay  for.  Ask  such  a  youth,  "  What 
can  you  do  for  your  own  support?"  alas,  how  often  will 
"  Nothing  "  be  the  answer ! 

To  some  extent  machinery  works  against  hand-craft.  In 
many  factories  the  hand  has  but  little  to  do,  and  that  little  is 
always  the  same,  so  that  labour  becomes  tiresome,  and  the 
workman  is  dull.  It  is  a  marvel  how  machinery,  which  em- 
bodies the  inventor's  mind,  takes  the  place  of  mind  in  the 
workman;  machinery  can  cut  statues,  weave  tapestry,  grind 
out  music,  make  long  calculations  in  arithmetic,  solve  simple 
problems  in  logic, — alas,  the  machine  has  been  brought  into 
politics !  Of  course  a  land  cannot  thrive  without  machinery. 
How  could  the  ore  be  brought  to  the  surface  and  made  cur- 
rent as  coin  without  machinery;  how  could  the  prairies  be 
tilled  as  they  are  without  reapers  and  mowers;  how  could 
the  corn,  the  beef,  and  the  sugar  be  carried  from  our  rich 
valleys  and  plains  to  the  hungry  of  other  lands;  how  could 
the  products  of  their  looms  and  foundries  be  brought  back  to 
us  without  the  aid  of  those  seven-league-booted  giants,  the 
locomotive  and  the  marine  engine?  Nevertheless,  he  who 
lives  by  the  machine  alone  leads  but  half  a  life,  while  he  who 
uses  his  hand  to  contrive  and  adorn  drives  dulness  from  his 
path.  It  is  hand-craft,  the  power  to  shape,  to  beautify,  and 
to  create,  which  gives  pleasure  and  dignity  to  labour.  A  true 
artist  and  a  true  artisan  are  governed  by  one  spirit;  their 
brains  are  the  masters  of  their  hands. 

In  other  climes  and  in  other  times,  hand-craft  had  more 


HAND-CRAFT   AND   REDE-CRAFT       285 

honour  than  it  has  with  us.  The  touch  of  Phidias  was  his 
own,  and  so  inimitable  that  not  long  ago  an  American,  scan- 
ning with  his  practised  eye  the  galleries  of  the  Louvre,  dis- 
covered a  fragment  of  the  work  of  Phidias  long  separated 
from  the  other  fragments  by  that  sculptor  which  Lord  Elgin 
had  sent  to  London.  The  artist's  stroke  could  not  be  mis- 
taken,— it  was  his  own,  as  truly  as  our  sign-manuals,  our 
autographs.  Ruskin,  in  a  lecture  upon  the  relation  of  art  to 
morals,  speaks  of  a  note  which  Diirer  made  on  some  draw- 
ings sent  him  by  Raphael.  It  was  this :  "  These  figures 
Raphael  drew  and  sent  to  Albert  Diirer  in  Niirnberg, — to 
show  him  his  hand."  Ruskin  well  compares  this  phrase  with 
other  stories  of  the  hand-craft  of  artists, — Apelles  and 
Protogenes  showing  their  skill  by  drawing  a  line;  Giotto  in 
striking  a  circle.  There  is  a  custom,  if  not  a  law,  in  the 
royal  households  of  Prussia  that  every  boy  shall  learn  a  trade. 
The  emperor  is  said  to  be  a  glazier,  and  the  crown  prince  a 
printer;  not  long  ago,  as  a  birthday  gift,  his  Majesty  received 
an  engraving  by  one  prince  and  a  book  bound  by  another, 
both  sons  of  the  heir-apparent.  In  one  of  the  most  famous 
shrines  of  education  in  Paris,  two  paintings  adorn  the  chapel 
walls,  not  of  saints  or  martyrs,  not  of  apostles  or  prophets, — 
perhaps  I  should  say  an  apostle  and  a  saint,  Labor  and 
Humilttas;  Industry  the  apostle  of  happiness,  and  Modesty 
the  divine  grace.  Is  it  not  worthy  of  note  that  Isaiah,  tell- 
ing of  golden  days  to  come,  when  the  voice  of  weeping  shall 
be  no  more  heard  in  the  land,  nor  the  voice  of  crying,  when 
the  child  shall  die  an  hundred  years  old,  and  men  shall  eat 
of  the  fruit  of  the  vineyards  they  have  planted,  adds  this 
promise  as  the  greatest  of  all  hopes,  that  the  elect  of  the 
Lord  shall  long  enjoy  the  work  of  their  hands? 

If  now  we  really  value  hand-craft,  we  shall  find  many 
ways  of  giving  it  honour ;  we  can  buy  that  which  shows  it,  or 
if  we  are  too  poor  to  buy,  we  can  help  on  with  our  looks  and 
words  those  who  bring  taste  and  skill  into  the  works  of  their 


286    THE   LAUNCHING   OF  A  UNIVERSITY 

hand.  If  your  means  are  so  small  that  you  can  only  buy 
what  you  need  for  your  daily  wants,  you  cannot  have  much 
choice;  but  hardly  any  who  reads  these  pages  is  so  restricted 
as  that:  almost,  if  not  quite,  everyone  buys  something  every 
year  for  his  pleasure, — a  curtain,  a  rug,  a  wall-paper,  a  chair, 
or  a  table,  not  truly  needed,  a  vase,  a  clock,  a  mantle  orna- 
ment, a  piece  of  jewellery,  a  portrait,  an  etching.  Now,  in 
making  such  a  purchase  to  please  the  eye,  to  make  the  cham- 
ber, the  parlour,  or  the  office  more  attractive,  choose  always 
that  which  shows  good  handiwork.  Such  a  choice  will  last. 
You  will  not  tire  of  it  as  you  will  of  commonplace  forms  and 
patterns,  and  your  children  after  you  will  value  it  as  much 
as  you  do. 

Let  us  not  forget,  however,  that  hand-craft  gives  us  many 
things  which  do  not  appeal  to  our  sense  of  beauty,  but  which 
are  nevertheless  of  priceless  value, — a  Jacquard  loom,  a  Cor- 
liss engine,  a  Hoe  printing-press,  a  Winchester  rifle,  an  Edi- 
son dynamo,  a  Bell  telephone.  Ruskin  may  scout  the  work 
of  machinery,  and  up  to  a  certain  point  in  his  enthusiasm 
for  hand-craft,  may  carry  us  with  him.  Let  us  say  without 
a  question  that  works  of  art — the  "  Gates  of  Paradise,"  by 
Ghiberti,  a  shield  by  Cellini,  a  statue  by  Michael  Angelo,  a 
portrait  by  Titian — are  better  than  any  reproductions  or  imi- 
tations, electrotypes  by  Barbedienne,  plaster  casts  by  Eichler, 
or  chromos  by  Prang.  But  even  Ruskin  cannot  suppress 
the  fact  that  machinery  brings  to  every  cottage  of  our  day 
comforts  and  adornments  which  in  the  days  of  Queen  Bess, 
or  even  of  Queen  Anne,  were  not  known  outside  of  the 
palace, — and  perhaps  not  there ;  and  let  us  be  mindful  that  it 
is  modern  hand-craft  which  has  made  the  machines  of  such 
wonderful  productivity,  weaving  tissues  more  delicate  than 
Penelope  ever  embroidered,  and  cutting  the  hardest  metals 
with  a  precision  unknown  to  Vulcan's  forge.  Machinery  is 
a  triumph  of  hand-craft  as  truly  as  sculpture  or  architecture. 
The  fingers  which  have  shaped  the  Aurania  or  the  Brooklyn 


HAND-CRAFT  AND   REDE-CRAFT       287 

suspension  bridge  are  as  full  of  art  as  those  which  have  cut 
an  obelisk  from  granite  or  moulded  the  uplifted  torch  of 
Liberty.  Rowland's  dividing  engine,  which  with  its  unerr- 
ing diamond  plough  traces  forty  thousand  furrows  upon  an 
inch  of  the  concave  grating,  silently  and  ceaselessly  at  work 
from  day  to  day,  that  men  may  see  more  than  they  ever  have 
yet  seen  of  the  glories  of  the  sun — a  machine  like  this  has 
beauty  of  its  own;  not  that  of  the  human  form  nor  that  of 
a  running  brook,  but  the  beauty  of  perfect  adaptation  to  a  pur- 
pose, secured  by  consummate  hand-craft.  The  fingers  which 
can  make  a  mountain  stream  turn  myriads  of  spindles,  or 
transform  rag  heaps  into  perfumed  paper,  or  evoke  thou- 
sands of  handy  objects  from  brass  and  iron,  are  fingers  which 
the  nineteenth  century  has  evolved.  The  hand-craft  which 
has  made  useful  things  cheap  is  already  making  cheap  things 
beautiful.  See  how  rapidly,  for  example,  pottery  in  this 
country  has  become  a  fine  art.  Let  us  hope  that  Americans 
will  learn  from  the  Japanese  how  to  form  and  finish,  before 
the  Japanese  learn  from  us  how  to  slight  and  sham. 

There  is  another  duty  to  be  enforced,  which  is  this.  All 
who  have  to  deal  with  the  young,  whether  parents  or  teachers, 
should  see  to  it  that  children  acquire  hand-craft  while  they 
are  getting  rede-craft.  Mothers  begin  right  in  the  nursery, 
teaching  little  fingers  to  play  before  the  tongue  can  lisp  a 
sentence.  Alas,  this  natural  training  has  too  often  been 
stopped  at  school.  Books  have  claimed  the  right  of  way; 
rede-craft  has  taken  the  place  of  honour;  hand-craft  has  been 
kept  in  the  rear.  But  now  the  ghost  of  Pestalozzi  has  been 
raised;  the  spirit  of  Froebel  is  walking  abroad  in  the  land; 
changes  are  coming  in  schools  of  every  grade.  The  changes 
began  at  the  top  of  our  educational  system  and  are  fast  work- 
ing down  to  the  bottom.  What  mean  the  new  buildings 
which  have  appeared  of  late  years  in  all  our  thriving  colleges  ? 
They  are  libraries  and  laboratories, — the  temples  of  rede- 
craft,  and  of  hand-craft;  they  tell  us  that  in  universities,  the 


288    THE  LAUNCHING  OF  A  UNIVERSITY 

highest  of  all  schools,  work-rooms,  labour-places,  laboratories, 
are  appreciated  as  book-rooms,  reading-rooms,  libraries; 
they  show  that  a  liberal  education  means  skill  in  getting  and 
in  using  knowledge;  that  wisdom  comes  from  searching 
books  and  searching  nature ;  that  in  the  finest  human  natures 
the  brain  and  the  hand  are  in  close  league.  So  too  in  the 
lowest  schools  as  far  as  possible  from  the  university,  the 
kindergarten  methods  have  won  their  place,  and  the  blocks, 
straws,  and  bands,  the  chalk,  clay,  and  scissors,  are  in  use 
to  make  young  fingers  deft. 

Intermediate  schools  have  not  yet  done  so  well.  There 
has  even  been  danger  that  one  of  the  most  needful  forms  of 
hand-craft  would  become  a  lost  art,  even  good  handwriting, 
and  schools  have  been  known  to  send  out  boys  skilled  in 
algebra  and  in  a  knowledge  of  the  aorist  who  could  not  write 
a  page  of  English  so  that  other  people  could  read  it  without 
effort.  The  art  of  drawing  is  another  kind  of  hand-craft 
which  has  been  quite  too  much  neglected  in  ordinary  schools. 
It  ought  to  be  laid  down  as  a  rule  of  the  road  to  knowledge 
that  everybody  must  learn  to  draw  as  well  as  to  write.  The 
pencil  is  a  simpler  tool  than  the  pen.  The  child  draws  pic- 
tures on  his  slate  before  he  learns  the  pot-hooks  of  his  copy- 
book ;  savages  begin  their  language  with  gestures  and  pictures ; 
but  we  wiseacres  of  the  schoolboards  let  our  youngsters  drop 
their  slate  pencils  and  their  Fabers  when  we  make  them 
practice  with  their  Gillotts  and  their  Esterbrooks.  We  ought 
to  say,  in  every  school  and  in  every  house,  the  child  must 
learn  to  draw  as  well  as  to  read  and  write.  It  is  the  begin- 
ning of  hand-craft,  the  hand-craft  which  underlies  a  host  of 
modern  callings.  A  new  French  book  has  lately  attracted 
much  attention,  "The  Life  of  a  Wise  Man  by  an  Igno- 
ramus." It  is  the  story  of  the  great  Pasteur,  whose  dis- 
coveries in  respect  to  germ  life  have  made  him  world-famous. 
If  you  turn  to  this  book  to  find  out  the  key  to  such  success, 
you  will  see  the  same  old  story, — the  child  is  father  of  the 


HAND-CRAFT  AND   REDE-CRAFT        289 

man.  This  great  physiologist,  whose  eye  is  keen  and  whose 
hand  is  so  artful,  is  the  boy  grown  up,  whose  pictures  were 
so  good  when  he  was  thirteen  years  old  that  the  villagers 
thought  him  an  artist  of  rank. 

Sewing,  as  well  as  drawing  and  writing,  has  been  neglected 
in  our  ordinary  schools.  Girls  should  certainly  learn  the 
second  lessons  of  hand-craft  with  the  needle.  Boys  may  well 
do  so ;  but  girls  must.  The  wise  governor  of  a  New  England 
State  did  not  hesitate,  a  short  time  since,  to  say  upon  a  com- 
mencement platform  how  much  he  had  often  valued  the  use 
of  the  needle,  which  was  taught  him  in  his  infant  school. 
How  many  a  traveller  can  tell  a  like  tale?  It  is  wise  that 
our  schools  are  going  back  to  old-fashioned  ways,  and  saying 
that  girls  must  learn  to  sew. 

Boys  should  practise  their  hands  upon  the  knife.  John 
Bull  used  to  laugh  at  Brother  Jonathan  for  whittling, 
and  Punch  always  drew  the  Yankee  with  a  blade  in  his 
ringers;  but  they  found  out  long  ago  over  the  waters  that 
whittling  in  this  land  led  to  something, — a  Boston  "  notion," 
a  wooden  clock,  a  yacht  America,  a  labour-saving  machine,  a 
cargo  of  wooden  ware,  a  shop  full  of  knick-knacks,  an  age  of 
inventions.  Boys  need  not  be  kept  back  to  the  hand-craft 
of  the  knife.  For  indoors  there  are  the  type-case  and  the 
printing-press,  the  paint-box,  the  tool-box,  the  lathe;  and  for 
outdoors,  the  trowel,  the  spade,  the  grafting-knife.  It  mat- 
ters not  how  many  of  the  minor  arts  the  youth  acquires;  the 
more  the  merrier.  Let  each  one  gain  the  most  he  can  in 
all  such  ways,  for  arts  like  these  bring  no  harm  in  their 
train;  quite  otherwise,  they  lure  good  fortune  to  their 
company. 

Play,  as  well  as  work,  may  bring  out  hand-craft.  The 
gun,  the  bat,  the  rein,  the  rod,  the  oar,  all  manly  sports  are 
good  training  for  the  hand.  Walking  insures  fresh  air,  but 
it  does  not  train  the  body  or  mind  like  games  and  sports 
which  are  played  out-of-doors.  A  man  of  great  fame  as  an 


290    THE   LAUNCHING   OF  A  UNIVERSITY 

explorer  and  as  a  student  of  nature  (he  who  discovered  in 
the  West  bones  of  horses  with  two,  three,  and  four  toes,  and 
found  the  remains  of  birds  with  teeth)  has  said  that  his  suc- 
cess was  largely  due  to  the  sports  of  his  youth.  His  boyish 
love  of  fishing  gave  him  his  manly  skill  in  exploration. 

I  speak  as  if  hand-craft  was  to  be  learned  by  sport.  So  it 
may.  It  may  also  be  learned  by  labour.  Day  by  day,  for 
weeks,  the  writer  has  been  watching  from  his  study  window 
a  stately  inn  rise  from  the  cellar  just  across  the  road.  A 
bricklayer  has  been  there  employed  whose  touch  is  like  the 
stroke  of  an  artist.  He  handled  each  brick  as  if  it  were 
porcelain,  balanced  it  carefully  in  his  hand,  measured  with 
his  eye  just  the  amount  of  mortar  which  it  needed,  and 
dropped  the  block  into  its  bed  without  straining  its  edge, 
without  varying  from  the  plumb-line,  by  a  stroke  of  hand- 
craft  as  true  as  the  sculptor's.  Toil  gave  him  skill. 

The  last  point  which  we  make  is  this:  Instruction  in 
hand-craft  must  be  more  varied  and  more  widespread.  This 
is  no  new  thought.  Forty  years  ago  schools  of  applied 
science  were  added  to  Harvard  and  Yale  colleges;  twenty 
years  ago  Congress  gave  land-scrip  to  aid  in  founding  at 
least  one  such  school  in  every  State;  men  of  wealth  have 
given  large  sums  for  such  ends.  Now  the  people  at  large 
are  waking  up.  They  see  their  needs;  they  have  the  money 
to  supply  their  wants.  Have  they  the  will  ?  Know  they  the 
way? 

Far  and  near  the  cry  is  heard  for  a  different  training  from 
that  now  given  in  the  public  schools.  Nobody  seems  to 
know  just  what  is  best;  but  almost  every  large  town  has  its 
experiment,  and  many  smaller  places  have  theirs.  The  State 
of  Massachusetts  has  passed  a  law  favouring  the  new  move- 
ment. A  society  of  benevolent  women  has  been  formed  in 
New  York  to  collect  the  experience  of  many  places,  and 
make  it  generally  known.  The  trustees  of  the  Slater  Fund 
for  the  training  of  freedmen  have  made  it  a  first  principle 


HAND-CRAFT  AND   REDE-CRAFT        291 

in  their  work  that  every  school  which  is  aided  by  that  fund 
shall  give  manual  training.  The  town  of  Toledo,  in  Ohio, 
opened  some  time  ago  a  school  of  practice  for  boys  which  has 
done  so  much  good  that  another  has  lately  been  opened  for 
girls.  St.  Louis  is  doing  famously.  Philadelphia  has 
several  experiments  in  progress.  Baltimore  has  made  a  start. 
In  New  York  there  are  many  noteworthy  movements — half 
a  dozen  of  them,  at  least,  full  of  life  and  hope.  Boston  was 
never  behindhand  in  the  work  of  promoting  knowledge,  and 
in  the  new  education  is  very  alert,  the  liberality  and  the 
sagacity  of  one  beneficent  lady  deserving  praise  of  high  de- 
gree. These  are  but  signs  of  the  times,  examples  to  which 
our  attention  has  been  called,  types  of  efforts,  multiform  and 
numerous,  in  every  part  of  the  United  States. 

But  it  must  be  said  that  the  wise  differ  very  much  as  to 
what  might,  should,  and  can  be  done.  Even  the  words  which 
express  the  wants  are  vague.  Something  may  be  done  by  an 
attempt,  even  though  it  be  rude,  to  put  in  classes  the  various 
movements  which  tend  toward  the  advancement  of  hand- 
craft.  Let  us  make  an  attempt,  and  present  the  following 
schedule  for  the  promotion  of  hand-craft: 

There  are  four  preliminary  needs. 

(a)  Kindergarten  work  should  be  taught  in  the  nurseries 
and  infant  schools  of  rich  and  poor. 

(b)  Every  girl  should  learn  to  sew,  and  every  boy  should 
learn  to  use  domestic  tools,  the  carpenter's  or  the  gardener's, 
or  both. 

(c)  Well-planned  exercises  fitted  to  strengthen  the  arms, 
fingers,  wrists,  lungs,  etc.,  should  be  devised,  and  where  pos- 
sible, driving,  riding,  swimming,  rowing,  playing  ball,  and 
other  out-of-door  sports  should  be  encouraged. 

(d)  Drawing  should  be  taught  as  early  as  writing,  and 
as  long  as  reading,  to  all,  and  everywhere.. 

Subsequent  possibilities  are  these: 

(a)   In  elementary  schools  lessons  may  be  given  in  the 


292    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

minor  decorative  arts, — such  as  those  of  the  Leland  methods, 
for  example. 

(b)  The  use  of  such  common  tools  as  belong  to  the  black- 
smith's forge  and  the  carpenter's  bench  may  be  taught  at 
slight  cost,  as  a  regular  class  exercise,  in  secondary  schools  for 
boys,  whatever  be  the  future  vocation  of  the  pupils. 

(c)  In  towns,  boys  who  begin  to  earn  a  living  when  they 
enter  their  teens  may  be  taught  in  every  school  to  practise 
brick-laying,  plastering,  plumbing,  gasfitting,  carpentry,  etc., 
as  is  done  and  well  done  in  the  Auchmuty  schools  in  New 
York.     Trade  schools  they  are  called ;  "  schools  of  practice 
for  workmen  "  would  be  a  clearer  name. 

(d)  In  high  schools,  technical  schools,  and  colleges,  youth 
may  learn  to  work  with  extreme  precision  in  wood  and  metal, 
as  they  are  taught  in  the  College  of  the  City  of  New  York,  in 
Cornell  University,  and  in  many  other  places. 

(e)  Youth  who  will  take  time  to  fit  themselves  to  be  fore- 
men and  leaders  in  machine  shops  and   factories  may  be 
trained  in  theoretical  and  practical  mechanics,  as  at  Worces- 
ter, Hoboken,  Boston,  and  elsewhere;  but  the  youth  who 
would  win  in  these  hard  paths  must  have  talent  at  command 
as  well  as  time  to  spare.     These  are  schools  for  foremen,  or 
(if  we  may  use  a  foreign  word  like  kindergarten)  they  are 
Meisterschaft  schools,  schools  for  training  masters. 

(/)  Youth  who  wish  to  enter  the  highest  department  of 
engineering  must  follow  long  courses  in  mathematics  and 
physics,  and  must  learn  to  apply  their  knowledge;  if  they 
wish  to  enter  upon  other  branches  of  advanced  science  they 
must  work  in  the  scientific  laboratories  now  admirably 
equipped  in  every  part  of  the  country.  These  are  technical 
colleges  for  engineers,  for  chemists,  for  explorers,  for 
naturalists,  etc. 

(g)  Art  instruction  must  be  provided  as  well  as  scien- 
tific, elementary,  constructive,  decorative,  and  professional 
education. 


HAND-CRAFT   AND   REDE-CRAFT        293 

At  every  stage,  the  language  of  the  pencil  and  of  the  pen 
must  be  employed;  rede-craft  must  be  practised  with  hand- 
craft  ;  and  there  must  be  no  thought  of  immediate  profit  from 
that  which  is  done  in  the  early  and  rudimentary  stages  of 
the  training. 


DE   JUVENTUTE:    AN    ADDRESS  ON 
THE  PREPARATORY  SCHOOL 

Delivered  at  the  Opening  of  the  New  Halls 
of  Berkeley  School,  New  York 


When  the  new  halls  of  the  Berkeley  School  in  New 
York  were  opened  in  1891,  the  following  address  on 
The  Preparatory  School  was  delivered  before  an  as- 
sembly of  the  parents  and  teachers. 


XVII 

DE  JUVENTUTE. 

I  WISH  that  with  an  invitation  to  deliver  an  address  there 
always  came  a  subject  to  be  discussed.  The  principal  of  this 
school,  with  his  knowledge  of  the  art  of  composition,  was  well 
aware  that  a  good  theme,  if  it  did  not  ensure  a  good  ending 
would  make  at  least  a  good  beginning,  and  so  he  has  asked  me 
to  speak  this  evening  of  Preparatory  Schools  for  Boys, — a 
theme  old  as  the  Egyptians  and  as  dry ;  new  as  the  Berkeleyans 
and  as  inspiring.  My  discourse  will  be  divided,  like  all 
Gaul,  "  into  three  parts."  First  I  shall  speak  of  Boys,  then 
of  Boys'  Schools,  and  then  of  Preparatory  Boys'  Schools. 
My  whole  is  De  Juventute. 

With  Boys  I  begin.  I  am  not  sure  that  people  are  agreed 
upon  the  limits  of  boyhood.  Shakespeare  divides  life  into 
seven  ages,  of  which  the  second  is  "  the  whining  schoolboy, 
with  his  satchel  and  shining  morning  face,  creeping  like 
snail  unwillingly  to  school,"  and  other  writers  regard  with  a 
superstitious  reverence  the  multiples  of  seven,  as  climacterics 
leading  up  to  "  the  grand  climacteric  "  of  nine  times  seven ; 
but  I  prefer  to  count  the  first  twenty  or  twenty-one  years  as 
those  of  boyhood;  then  comes  early  manhood — another 
twenty  years;  the  third  score  is  that  of  middle  age  and  ma- 
turity, and  the  fourth,  of  seniority.  It  is  only  centenarians 
who  can  truly  be  called  old  in  these  days  of  Gladstone,  Man- 
ning, Ruskin,  Tennyson,  Bismarck,  Moltke,  and  Kaiser 
Wilhelm;  octogenarians  and  nonagenarians  are  only  in  ad- 
vancing years.  At  Commencements,  grey-haired  men  who 
have  grandsons  in  college  allude  to  their  classmates  as  "  the 
boys,"  and  appear  to  think  that  calling  a  man  young  makes 
him  so.  But  the  boys  I  am  to  speak  of  have  not  been  to 

297 


298    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

college;  they  are  under  their  majority,  and  most  of  them  less 
than  eighteen  years  of  age.  I  refer  to  the  boys  of  Berkeley, 
of  Exeter,  of  Andover,  of  St.  Paul's,  of  Norwich,  of 
Lawrenceville,  and  of  hosts  of  other  schools.  I  do  not  refer 
to  the  ghosts  of  boys,  like  one  that  went  the  rounds  with 
Doctor  Holmes  when  he  returned,  after  fifty  years  or  so,  to 
the  scenes  of  his  youth  and  the  academy  of  Andover.  "  The 
ghost  of  a  boy  was  at  my  side,"  he  says,  "  as  I  wandered 
among  the  places  he  knew  so  well."  The  ghost  went  with 
him  even  to  the  railroad  station.  "  Give  me  two  tickets  to 
Boston,"  said  the  Autocrat  of  the  Breakfast  Table;  but  the 
little  ghost  replied,  "  When  you  leave  this  place  you  leave  me 
behind  you."  .  "  One  ticket,  then,  to  Boston  "  (said  the  tale- 
teller), "  and  good-by,  little  ghost." 

But  in  reality  do  men  ever  say  good-by  to  "  the  little 
ghost "  ?  Is  he  not  with  us  night  and  day,  summer  and 
winter,  all  our  lives  through,  and  are  we  sure  that  even 
death  will  part  us  from  him?  Ask  the  older  men  of  your 
acquaintance  and  see  if  the  ghost  of  a  boy  is  not  always  near 
by.  Ask  even  Doctor  Holmes — long  may  we  sip  with  him 
"  over  the  tea-cups  " — if  the  ghost  of  a  boy  whom  he  left  at 
the  Andover  station  did  not  fly  through  the  air  and  meet 
him  when  he  reached  his  house  on  Beacon  Street.  Ask  him 
if  the  little  ghost  has  never  appeared  in  Cambridge  or  in  Berk- 
shire— yes,  ask  him  if  the  ghost  is  not  always  with  him, 
sometimes  a  recording  angel,  sometimes  a  prophet  of 
immortality. 

Is  it  not  worth  while  for  us  older  people  to  tell  the  boys 
that  the  little  ghost  will  always  keep  them  company — that  as 
they  grow  older  he  will  remind  them  perpetually  of  the  past  ; 
every  peccadillo  will  be  remembered,  and  all  healthy,  honest 
deeds  will  be  treasured  in  the  cells  of  memory  "to  be  used 
as  directed  "? 

During  a  short  time  past  there  have  been  some  very  curious 
studies  respecting  the  natural  history  of  boys.  Mr.  Howells, 


DE  JUVENTUTE  299 

the  novelist,  has  written  a  book  that  he  calls  "  A  Boy's 
Town,"  and  in  its  pages  he  delineates,  with  the  realistic  touch 
of  a  master,  the  thoughts  of  a  boy  between  his  third  and  his 
eleventh  year,  who  grew  up  in  a  country  town  on  the  Miami 
River.  Literature  is  full  of  autobiographies,  but  here  we 
have  something  quite  unusual,  something  quite  fresh  in  the 
literature  of  childhood.  It  is  a  picture  drawn  with  ac- 
curacy by  a  writer  who  is  still  young,  of  the  environment  in 
which  he  was  brought  up.  Here  we  may  learn  what  an 
American  boy  surmised,  discovered,  and  believed  in  respect 
to  the  world  in  which  he  was  placed. 

By  a  curious  coincidence,  whether  conscious  or  uncon- 
scious I  cannot  say,  a  celebrated  French  writer,  whose  nom 
de  plume  is  Pierre  Loti,  has  drawn  a  companion-picture  to 
that  of  Howells.  In  these  two  books  we  may  compare  the 
Hugenot  and  the  American.  The  Frenchman,  with  a  lively 
imagination  and  a  love  of  adventure,  was  subjected  to  the  de- 
pressing influences  of  a  French  country  town.  On  the 
prairie  all  was  freedom;  in  the  province  all  was  restraint. 
But  we  see  how  both  natures  rose  above  their  belongings, 
how  the  self-determining  power  of  the  will  made  them  both 
keen  observers,  graceful  narrators,  distinguished  novelists. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  studies  of  the  inherent  ten- 
dency of  boys  to  organise  society  may  be  found  in  a  paper, 
entitled  "  Rudimentary  Society  among  Boys,"  that  was 
written  a  short  time  ago  by  Mr.  J.  Hemsley  Johnson,  a 
connection  of  Reverdy  Johnson,  the  Maryland  statesman. 
In  this  paper  we  have  the  story  of  the  life  among  the  Mc- 
Donogh  schoolboys,  in  their  country  home  a  few  miles  from 
Baltimore.  Several  hundreds  of  acres,  with  predominant 
woodlands,  belonged  to  the  school,  but  the  boys  thought  that 
the  land  and  all  that  grew  or  was  nourished  upon  it  belonged 
to  them;  so  they  established  their  rights  to  the  walnut  trees 
and  the  birds'  nests,  and  afterward  to  the  portions  of  culti- 
vated grounds.  The  germs  of  civilized  society  were  soon 


300    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A  UNIVERSITY 

developed.  "  No  right  without  its  duty,  no  duty  without 
its  rights."  Authority,  law,  penalty,  inheritance,  trade,  cir- 
culating medium,  were  all  evolved  by  boys. 

Doctor  Stanley  Hall  has  published  a  kindred  memoir,  in 
which  he  has  described  the  amusements  of  children.  He 
calls  his  paper  "  The  Story  of  a  Sand  Pile." 

Perhaps  we  are  coming  to  the  time  when  the  comparative 
biography  of  boys  will  take  its  place  beside  the  comparative 
history  of  nations  and  the  comparative  geography  of  lands. 
We  shall  not  only  be  able  to  distinguish  how  boys  differ 
from  men,  and  how  their  ways  differ  from  those  of  girls ;  but 
we  may  learn  how  boys  differ  from  boys,  at  different  periods, 
in  different  families,  with  different  talents,  and  with  different 
hopes  and  expectations. 

Boys  may  be  classified  into  genera  and  species,  not  ac- 
cording to  what  they  know,  but  according  to  what  they  are. 
The  school  affords  an  easy  method  of  placing  them  in  forms, 
grades,  classes — almost  as  exact  as  that  of  the  tailor  who 
places  them  in  coats  of  different  sizes — but  what  a  boy  has 
learned  is  only  one  element  in  an  estimate  of  his  worth.  It 
is  more  important  to  discover  what  are  his  capacities,  to  what 
intellectual  and  moral  group  he  belongs;  what  are  his  ten- 
dencies toward  nodosities  that  must  be  counteracted;  what 
are  his  aptitudes  to  be  cultivated;  what  are  the  habits  that 
must  be  regulated  so  that  they  shall  be  helps  and  not  hin- 
drances in  the  battle  of  life. 

With  all  the  accumulated  experience  of  mankind  it  is  still 
extremely  difficult  to  foretell  what  a  boy  will  become.  It 
is  possible  to  predict  the  speed  that  a  thoroughbred  colt  will 
approximate,  as  Professor  Brewer  has  shown,  or  to  anticipate 
the  quality  of  a  terrier  or  a  pointer,  of  an  Ayrshire  or  a  Dur- 
ham; but  who  is  wise  enough  to  discover  in  the  nursery  the 
coming  statesmen,  poets,  scholars,  and  divines,  or  even  to 
foretell  what  qualities  will  be  developed  in  any  group  of 
schoolboys?  Who  can  estimate  the  power  of  the  individual, 


DE  JUVENTUTE  301 

the  self,  the  ego,  that  dwells  in  each  bodily  frame,  and  asserts 
in  the  course  of  life  its  supreme  authority?  One  of  the  most 
impressive  sermons  delivered  by  Charles  Kingsley  in  West- 
minster Abbey  was  a  sermon  on  the  monosyllable,  the  mono- 
gram, the  monocule  I. 

No  parent,  no  teacher,  no  physician,  no  philosopher  is 
wise  enough  to  speak  infallibly  upon  such  important  ques- 
tions. There  are  no  logical  formulas,  no  canons  of  criti- 
cism, no  physiological  tests  by  which  conclusions  may  be 
reached.  Nevertheless,  there  are  signs  and  tokens  which  in- 
dicate the  probabilities,  and  by  these  the  wise  instructor,  the 
observing  mother,  the  prudent  father  will  be  guided. 

One  way  of  arriving  at  a  knowledge  of  boys  is  by  reminis- 
cence. Old  men  like  to  renew  their  youth  by  retrospection. 
They  imagine  themselves  young  because  they  recall  so 
vividly  the  days  of  their  childhood,  but  they  are  in  danger 
both  of  Scylla  and  Charybdis.  They  may  err  by  vanity  and 
imagine  that  they  were  more  excellent  than  they  really 
were ;  or  they  may  err  by  modesty,  and  blame  themselves  for 
faults  which  were  not  so  personal  as  they  were  circumstantial. 
In  rare  cases  we  may  get  an  introspective  view  of  a  boy's  life, 
written  while  he  was  a  boy,  but  I  do  not  remember  any 
masculine  diary  like  that  of  Marie  Bashkirtseff,  the  prodigy 
of  egotism,  the  genius  run  wild,  the  morbid  self-auscultator 
who  could  listen  to  the  beatings  of  her  own  heart  and  regis- 
ter the  sounds  of  her  own  respiration. 

It  is  almost  a  fashion  in  these  days  for  men  who  have  ac- 
quired distinction  to  write  the  memoirs  of  their  boyhood. 
Two  of  my  colleagues,  Professor  Gildersleeve,  the  Grecian, 
and  Professor  Newcomb,  the  astronomer,  have  lately  pub- 
lished accounts  of  the  "  formative  influences  "  to  which  they 
were  subjected.  Not  long  before,  President  Dwight  and 
President  A.  D.  White  wrote  similar  articles.  Noteworthy 
Englishmen — Tyndall,  Lecky,  Farrar,  and  Frederic  Harri- 
son among  the  number — have  written  the  story  of  their 


302    THE   LAUNCHING   OF  A   UNIVERSITY 

youth.  Ruskin,  poet,  artist,  naturalist,  philosopher,  is  re- 
vealing under  such  cryptographic  titles  as  "  The  Springs  of 
Wandel,"  "  Herne  Hill  Almond  Blossoms,"  and  "The 
Banks  of  Tay,"  the  life  of  a  boy  as  it  appears  to  a  septuagen- 
arian. Franklin  wrote  his  autobiography;  so  did  Gibbon, 
Marmontel,  and  Rousseau;  and  so  we  can  go  farther  and 
farther  back  in  history  till  we  reach  the  Confessions  of  Saint 
Augustine.  It  is  interesting  to  notice  that  among  the  writers 
of  our  own  day  many  fall  back  on  the  term  of  the  day, 
heredity,  which  seems  to  serve  equally  well  as  a  scapegoat 
and  as  a  mentor. 

The  sum  of  all  that  I  have  been  able  to  discover  from  these 
and  many  other  writings,  and  from  innumerable  opportunities 
to  study  boys,  may  be  very  briefly  stated. 

Every  boy  differs  from  every  other  boy  in  character  as  he 
does  in  appearance.  Even  twins,  while  they  closely  resemble 
one  another  in  many  respects,  may  differ  essentially  in  fun- 
damental tastes  and  talents.  Mr.  Galton  says  that  extreme 
similarity  and  extreme  dissimilarity  are  nearly  as  common  be- 
tween twins  of  the  same  sex  as  moderate  resemblance.  If 
this  is  confirmed,  what  becomes  of  heredity? 

The  corollary  is  obvious,  that  plans  of  education  should  as 
far  as  possible  be  adapted  to  individual  requirements;  but  as 
every  boy  is  preparing  for  life  among  his  fellows,  and  as 
Providence  has  so  ordered  it  that  he  is  strongly  influenced  by 
other  boys,  it  follows  that  to  treat  him  alone,  away  from 
comrades,  in  the  backwoods,  in  a  cell,  under  exclusive  in- 
struction, is  only  justifiable  under  extraordinary  circum- 
stances. He  comes  into  the  world  not  only  as  an  individual, 
with  his  own  responsibilities  and  possibilities,  but  as  one  of  a 
family,  a  neighbourhood,  a  race,  from  which  he  cannot  be 
extricated  except  by  death.  Isolation  is  therefore  as  un- 
natural as  it  is  undesirable  and  difficult. 

Every  boy  is  influenced  both  by  his  inheritance  and  his 
environment.  Yet  the  laws  of  heredity  in  the  human  species 


DE  JUVENTUTE  303 

are  not  well  enough  known  to  give  us  any  certain  indications 
of  what  the  child  of  any  parents  will  become,  while  the  con- 
ditions in  which  a  person  lives  are  as  complex  as  the  elements 
that  nourish  his  body,  the  air  he  breathes,  the  water  he  drinks ; 
as  subtle  and  insinuating  as  the  tones  of  the  voice,  the  glance 
of  the  eye,  the  nod  of  the  head,  the  pressure  of  the  hand; 
as  influential  as  religious  faith,  the  forms  of  civil  government, 
the  habits  of  society,  the  lessons  of  antiquity,  the  examples  of 
good  men;  and  as  trifling  as  a  careless  word,  a  thoughtless 
joke,  a  timely  hint,  a  friendly  warning,  or  a  loving  smile. 

Until  he  reaches  maturity  every  boy  requires  positive  guid- 
ance from  those  who  have  had  a  longer  experience  in  the  ways 
of  the  world.  It  is  always  cruel,  and  it  may  be  criminal,  to 
allow  a  youth  to  experiment  for  himself  upon  conduct — to 
say  that  he  must  sow  his  own  wild  oats,  that  experience  is  the 
best  teacher,  that  he  must  choose  his  own  course.  Every 
boy  is  entitled  to  know  what  older  persons  have  discovered 
of  the  laws  of  conduct,  and  to  receive  restraint,  caution,  and 
warning  until  his  eyes  have  been  opened  and  his  powers  of 
judgment  developed.  Nobody  questions  that  he  ought  to 
be  taught  the  laws  of  health,  of  diet,  of  poisons,  of  climate, 
or  the  laws  that  protect  his  person  and  his  property;  and  it  is 
surprising  that  anybody  should  question  his  right  to  initiation, 
by  stringent  discipline,  into  the  laws  of  intellectual  and  moral 
well-being.  Every  boy,  whether  he  wishes  it  or  not,  should 
be  trained.  Yet  the  contrary  doctrine  is  covertly  held,  if 
not  openly  avowed,  by  many  a  tender  mother  and  by  many 
a  generous  father.  Note  the  autobiography  of  John  Stuart 
Mill. 

Neither  precocity  nor  dulness  is  any  certain  index  of  the 
future  of  a  boy.  Only  a  wise  man  can  tell  the  difference 
between  the  priggishness  of  conceit  and  the  display  of  un- 
usual talent,  and  it  takes  a  superlatively  wise  man  to  devise 
right  methods  for  exciting  temperaments  that  are  dull,  or, 
on  the  other  hand,  to  guide  a  genius.  Abnormal  brilliancy 


304    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

and  abnormal  slowness  are  usually  the  result  of  abnormal 
conditions,  and  physiologists  are  only  just  beginning  to  show 
to  ordinary  parents  how  these  unusual  conditions  may  be 
discovered  and  treated.  When  we  see  a  man  we  cannot  tell 
what  sort  of  a  boy  he  came  from,  and  when  we  see  a  boy 
we  cannot  tell  what  sort  of  a  man  he  will  make.  The  great 
emperor  Charles  V.,  who  grew  old  prematurely,  was  slow 
in  his  development,  and  was  nearly  twenty-one  before  his 
beard  grew.  The  facts  lately  collected  by  Doctor  Scripture 
in  regard  to  mathematicians  show  how  impossible  it  is  to 
prophesy  in  respect  to  the  development  of  hypothetical  genius. 
Some  who  have  risen  to  great  distinction,  like  Gauss,  Ampere, 
Safford,  were  precocious  mathematicians  in  their  youth; 
another  boy  of  extraordinary  parts,  Thomas  Fuller,  the 
Virginia  calculator,  remained  an  idiot.  Daniel  Webster, 
greatest  of  New  England  orators,  broke  down,  we  are  told, 
in  his  early  speaking.  Most  boys  that  run  away  from  home 
take  the  road  to  ruin ;  but  the  liberator  of  Greece,  Sir  Richard 
Church,  who  died  a  few  years  ago  in  Athens,  honoured  by 
a  public  funeral  and  by  a  monument  raised  by  the  Greek 
nation  to  commemorate  his  services,  was  a  boy  of  under  size, 
of  Quaker  parentage,  who,  before  he  was  sixteen  years  of 
age,  ran  away  from  home,  and  "  took  the  king's  shilling." 

The  influence  of  modern  psycho-physiological  inquiries 
upon  the  coming  generations  is  still  undetermined.  The 
good  that  is  aimed  at  may,  perhaps,  surpass  the  evil  that  is 
done.  Certainly,  in  these  days,  when  morbid  self-conscious- 
ness, extreme  sensitiveness,  bashfulness,  shyness,  and  timidity 
are  so  frequently  apparent,  the  wise  parent,  the  wise  teacher 
will  hesitate  before  encouraging  in  his  own  family  or  his 
own  school  too  intense  and  too  prolonged  introspection.  Give 
the  boys  plenty  of  open  air,  and  when  they  cannot  have 
this,  encourage  within-doors  exercise  in  hand-craft,  the  use 
of  tools,  and  knowledge  of  the  books  of  sports — not  to  the 
exclusion  of  other  studies,  but  as  collateral  security  that  the 


DE  JUVENTUTE  305 

mind  and  the  body  shall  be  simultaneously  developed.  As 
an  example,  the  stories  that  we  have  of  Daniel  Webster's 
boyhood  are  very  instructive.  You  may  find  them  in  Morse's 
life  of  the  great  orator  of  New  England.  The  infant  was 
a  rather  sickly  little  being  at  its  birth,  and  some  cheerful 
neighbours  predicted  that  he  would  not  live  long.  For  many 
years  the  boy  was  weak  and  delicate.  Manual  labour,  the 
common  lot  of  farmers'  sons,  was  out  of  the  question  in  his 
case.  But  now  hear  the  other  side  of  the  story.  "  Young 
Webster  was  allowed  to  devote  much  of  his  time  to  play, 
to  play  of  the  best  sort,  in  the  woods  and  fields."  The  bar 
and  the  Senate  and  the  Cabinet  tell  the  conclusion  of  a 
career  which  began  with  such  meagre  hopes. 

Healthy,  out-of-door  lives,  directed  toward  objects  of  en- 
joyment, of  observation,  of  sport,  of  acquisition,  are  better 
for  boys  than  exclusive  devotion  to  books,  and  especially  than 
habits  of  introspection,  self-examination,  casuistry,  journal- 
writing. 

Now  let  us  consider  schools. 

Of  all  the  facts  that  the  world  has  accumulated  with 
respect  to  the  art  of  training,  but  little  has  been  reduced  to 
intelligible  terms  respecting  the  methods  of  producing  this 
or  that  variety  of  character.  Certain  general  principles  have 
certainly  been  established,  like  the  vague  laws  of  health: 
"  Eat  nothing  improper,  drink  nothing  improper,  do  nothing 
improper,  and  you  will  be  well ;  "  but  how  shall  we  counter- 
act the  insidious  microbe  that  may  ruin  all  our  expectations 
of  health  and  thwart  our  incessant  carefulness?  "Go  to 
school,  learn  your  lessons,  win  you  diplomas,"  are  directions 
as  good  as  they  are  simple ;  but  how  shall  the  bacteria  be  got 
rid  of  that  appear  in  the  forms  of  bad  company,  laziness,  lack 
of  interest  in  certain  branches  of  study,  inability  to  master 
the  calculus  or  the  Greek  subjunctive,  deceitful  facility,  cor- 
rosive vanity,  excessive  versatility,  unusual  obstinacy,  or  that 
incapacity  to  accept  discipline  which  is  the  exact  reverse  of 


3o6    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

what  George  Eliot  calls  "  genius  "  ?  Why  is  it  that  no  school 
of  painting  can  promise  to  make  a  great  painter  of  any  candi- 
date, however  promising ;  that  no  college  carr  assure  a  parent 
that  his  son  will  become  a  scholar;  that  no  lesson  in  English 
composition  will  make  an  orator  or  a  poet;  that  prolonged 
studies  in  history  and  politics  do  not  produce  statesmen?  Is 
it  not  still  more  remarkable  that  the  incessant  care  of  the 
best  and  wisest  parents  and  teachers  is  so  often  counteracted 
by  the  examples  and  the  temptations  of  boyhood  and 
manhood. 

Schools  are  not  restricted  to  boyhood.  They  are  the 
arrangements  of  nature  and  Providence  and  society,  by 
which,  at  every  stage  of  our  existence,  we  are  prepared  for 
something  beyond.  The  cradle  is  a  school,  and  so  is  the 
nursery.  The  kindergarten  and  the  infant  class  are  of  a 
little  higher  grade.  Grammar-schools  and  colleges  come  next. 
Then  come  the  high-schools  that  we  call  universities,  with 
their  departments  of  law,  medicine,  theology,  and  the  liberal 
arts.  All  along  the  course  are  supplementary  schools,  spread- 
ing out  their  tentacles  for  the  capture  of  those  who  are  not 
bound  elsewhere.  Sooner  or  later  for  us  all  begins  the 
pedagogy  of  life — the  school  of  practice,  where  the  lessons 
of  the  books  are  applied  to  the  affairs  of  men.  So  Milton 
sings: 

"  All  is,  if  I  have  grace  to  use  it  30, 
As  ever  in  my  great  Task-master's  eye." 

Likewise  George  Herbert: 

"  Lord,  with  what  care  thou  hast  begirt  us  round ! 
Parents  first  season  us,  then  schoolmasters 
Deliver  us  to  laws;  they  send  us  bound 
To  rules  of  reason,  holy  messengers." 

From  the  cry  of  the  infant  to  the  last  breath  of  the  centen- 
arian, life  is  one  long  school,  without  holidays  or  vacations, 
Each  day  has  its  lessons,  each  decade  its  reviews. 


DE  JUVENTUTE  307 

We  often  read  in  the  newspapers  that  some  prominent 
person  was  a  self-made  man.  Francis  Lieber  used  to  ridicule 
this  phrase  by  saying  that  he  should  like  to  stand  by  while  a 
man  was  making  himself.  But  the  absurdity  of  such  a 
phrase  has  never  been  more  clearly  stated  than  by  Mr. 
Charles  A.  Dana,  in  his  recent  eulogy  of  Horace  Greeley. 
Mr.  Greeley  is  an  example,  almost  as  striking  as  Benjamin 
Franklin  or  Abraham  Lincoln,  of  what  a  man  may  become 
without  scholastic  discipline.  The  three  were  men  of  ex- 
ceptional talent,  exceptional  vigour,  and  exceptional  power 
of  will.  Mr.  Dana  says  of  Greeley:  "  He  was  a  man  of 
almost  no  education;  indeed,  of  no  education  at  all  except 
what  he  had  acquired  for  himself,"  and  then  he  adds  these 
sage  words:  "  The  worst  school  that  a  man  can  be  sent  to, 
(and  the  worst  of  all  it  is  for  a  man  of  genius),  is  what 
is  called  a  self-education.  There  is  no  greater  misfortune 
for  a  man  of  extraordinary  talent  than  to  be  educated  by 
himself,  because  he  has  of  necessity  a  very  poor  schoolmaster. 
There  is  nothing  more  advantageous  to  an  able  youth  than 
to  be  thrown  into  contact  with  other  youths  in  the  conflict 
of  study  and  in  the  struggle  for  superiority  in  the  school  and 
in  the  college.  That  was  denied  to  Mr.  Greeley.  He  knew 
no  language  but  his  own;  but  of  that  he  possessed  the  most 
extraordinary  mastery." 

And  now  I  have  a  few  words  to  add  in  respect  of  what  is 
commonly  called  "  the  preparatory  school,"  the  place  where 
boys  are  prepared  for  college.  Not  all  its  pupils  will  go  to 
college,  it  is  true,  but  all  have  chosen,  or  have  been  chosen, 
to  follow  a  course  of  training  which,  by  the  common  consent 
of  educated  men,  leads  up  to  a  college  course.  "  He  was 
fitted  for  college  "  is  a  phrase  that  marks  an  epoch  in  educa- 
tion quite  as  distinctly  as  the  phrase  a  "  Bachelor  of  Arts." 
It  means  that  a  youth  of  fair  parts,  during  his  teens,  has  been 
taught  the  elements  of  mathematical  science,  and  two  or 
three  languages  in  addition  to  his  mother-tongue;  that  he 


308    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

has  been  introduced  to  a  knowledge  of  the  natural  world, 
and  that  he  has  some  acquaintance  with  his  ow  country 
and  his  own  stock.  It  should  also  mean  that  he  has  learned 
the  difficult  art  of  study,  and  has  acquired  good  habits  of 
attention,  memory,  and  simple,  accurate  expression.  In 
addition,  the  phrase  is  beginning  to  imply  that  the  boy  has 
begun  the  study  of  some  branch  of  science,  and  has  at  least 
learned  how  to  observe  the  phenomena  of  the  animate  life 
and  of  the  inanimate  forces  by  which  he  is  surrounded.  Side 
by  side  with  these  intellectual  lessons  moral  discipline  is  also 
given. 

Certainly  one  of  the  first  requisites  of  a  good  preparatory 
school  is  bodily  discipline.  This  is  partly  to  be  secured  by 
watchfulness  in  respect  to  posture,  diet,  repose,  gymnastics, 
within  the  school  walls ;  it  is  to  be  still  further  promoted  by 
abundant  exercise  in  the  open  air.  Manly  sports  with  the 
bat  and  the  oar,  running,  jumping,  bowling,  swimming,  row- 
ing, riding,  fencing,  boxing,  and,  if  possible,  sailing,  are  all 
to  be  encouraged.  Nor  is  military  training  to  be  underrated. 
The  systematic  exercise  of  every  limb  and  every  muscle  is 
desirable,  not  under  rules  too  rigidly  laid  down  by  the  higher 
authorities,  but  under  regulations  spontaneously  developed 
by  the  youth.  It  is  generally  conceded  that  just  now,  in 
England  and  this  country,  there  is  danger  of  intemperance 
in  sport.  This  may  be  less  disastrous  than  intemperance  in 
drink  or  meat;  nevertheless  there  is  such  a  thing  as  inebriety 
in  athletic  games.  I  do  not  refer  to  the  danger  of  broken 
limbs  and  bruised  faces,  for  they  are  rarely  enduring  injuries, 
but  to  the  danger  of  unfair  rivalries,  of  bad  associations,  of 
peculiar  temptations  in  the  anticipation  and  enjoyment  of 
victory  or  in  the  depression  of  defeat,  in  the  neglect  of  other 
and  higher  scholastic  duties,  in  the  waste  of  time  and  money 
upon  costly  journeys,  perhaps  in  extravagant  hospitality, 
The  boys  themselves  must  be  encouraged  to  correct  these 
tendencies,  but  they  have  a  right  to  expect  that  we  older 


DE  JUVENTUTE  309 

boys  will  remind  them  of  their  highest  obligations  and  en- 
courage heir  fulfilment.  With  the  reasonable  control  which 
players,  teachers,  parents  can  readily  exercise,  and  which  the 
young  ladies  and  the  newspapers  might  greatly  encourage, 
the  just  medium  can  be  secured,  and  athletics  continue  to 
be  an  essential  factor  in  the  training  of  American  boys. 

The  importance  of  mental  habits  is  sometimes  forgotten 
in  the  eagerness  to  impart  knowledge.  Perhaps  the  colleges 
are  more  to  blame  for  this  than  the  schools;  for  the  colleges 
receive  their  pupils  on  examination,  and  examinations  are 
contrived  so  as  to  show  sometimes  what  the  freshman  knows 
and  sometimes  what  he  does  not  know.  Usually  the  ex- 
aminers have  not  time,  if  they  have  the  disposition,  and,  if 
they  have  time  and  disposition  they  may  not  have  the  capacity, 
to  put  the  candidate  to  any  other  test  than  his  ability  to 
answer  certain  questions. 

Examinations  are  a  great  stumbling-block  not  only  to  the 
pupil,  but  also  to  the  examiner,  and  I  shall  not  now  discuss 
this  vexatious  theme.  However,  this  much  may  be  said. 
That  teacher  fails  who  keeps  the  coming  examination  per- 
petually in  sight.  It  is  his  business  to  think  of  the  minds  of 
his  pupils  individually,  to  strengthen,  prune,  stimulate,  train 
the  various  qualities  exhibited  by  each  scholar.  He  should 
indeed  impart  knowledge,  not  forgetful  that  it  is  as  true  in 
the  examination-room  as  anywhere  else,  "  if  there  be  knowl- 
edge, it  shall  vanish  away  " ;  but  he  should  also  enforce  the 
formation  of  habits — and  especially  at  the  schoolboy  age — of 
close  attention,  tenacious  memory,  and  accurate  statement. 
These  three  mental  virtues  are  not  unworthy  to  be  named 
after  faith,  hope,  and  charity,  the  trinal  virtues  of  Saint  Paul 
— attention,  memory,  truth,  and  the  greatest  of  these  is 
truth. 

The  intellectual  lessons  that  boys  receive  should  be  so  im- 
parted that  they  may  promote  the  formation  of  moral  habits. 
Accuracy,  carefulness,  truthfulness  of  statement,  fidelity, 


3io    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

thoroughness,  courtesy,  self-control,  deference,  consideration, 
respect,  temperance,  these  are  virtues  that  may  readily  be 
developed  while  the  boy  is  crossing  the  pons  asinorum  or 
stumbling  over  a  sentence  of  Tacitus. 

"  Refrain  to-night,"  said  Hamlet  to  the  queen,  "  and  that 
shall  lend  a  kind  of  easiness  to  the  next  abstinence;  the  next 
more  easy ;  for  use  almost  can  change  the  stamp  of  nature  and 
master  the  devil  or  throw  him  out  with  wondrous  potency." 

The  idea  of  the  preparatory  school  has  probably  been  more 
completely  developed  in  England  than  in  this  country,  and 
the  names  of  Eton,  Harrow,  Rugby,  Wesminster,  and  Win- 
chester are  almost  as  famous  as  those  of  Oxford  and  Cam- 
bridge. Rugby  is  especially  familiar  to  us,  partly  because  of 
the  remarkable  character  of  Thomas  Arnold,  admirably 
portrayed  by  Dean  Stanley,  and  partly  because  of  the  adven- 
tures of  Tom  Brown — known  to  every  schoolboy,  and  almost 
as  real  as  the  doctor  himself.  Worthy  to  be  named  with 
the  story  and  the  memoir  are  the  verses  of  Matthew  Arnold 
on  Rugby  chapel.  "  Through  thee,"  the  poet  says  of  his 
father, 

"  I  believe 

In  the  noble  and  great  who  are  gone; 
Pure  souls,  honoured  and  blest 
By  former  ages.    .    .    . 
Yes,  I  believe  that  there  lived 
Others  like  thee  in  the  past; 
Not  like  the  men  of  the  crowd 

But  souls  temper'd  with  fire, 
Fervent,  heroic,  and  good — 
Helpers  and  friends  of  mankind." 

We  know  less  about  Mr.  Edward  Thring,  the  head-master 
of  Uppington  School,  who  has  recently  died,  but  it  is  clear 
that  he  too  was  born  to  be  a  leader  and  teacher  of  boys.  I 
have  been  acquainted  in  this  country,  intimately,  with  a 


DE  JUVENTUTE  3" 

kindred  soul,  an  English  schoolmaster,  who,  first  in  Trinity 
School  of  New  York,  then  at  Lake  Mohegan,  then  in  a 
college,  and  at  length  in  a  university,  exercised  over  all  the 
youth  that  knew  him  the  strongest  intellectual  and  moral 
influence.  Long  as  they  live  his  pupils  will  revere  Charles 
d'Urban  Morris.  Such  men  are  robust.  Their  virility  is 
shown  in  bodily  exercises,  in  scholarship,  in  politics,  in  re- 
ligion. They  quit  themselves  like  men  and  are  strong. 
Happy  the  land  where  they  are  engaged  in  the  service  of 
the  boys! 

Characters  like  those  just  mentioned  have  been  developed 
in  this  country.  I  could  name  some  who  are  living,  beloved, 
honoured,  obeyed,  and  followed.  Among  the  departed, 
Doctor  Abbot  of  Exeter  and  Doctor  Taylor  of  Andover  are 
particularly  worthy  to  be  remembered.  But,  on  the  whole, 
the  tendency  of  our  times  is  not  toward  the  fostering  of  such 
teachers.  Many  of  the  brightest  Americans  are  attracted 
by  business.  The  three  professions  traditionally  called 
learned,  and  the  modern  scientific  pursuits  enlist  great  num- 
bers. Of  those  who  devote  themselves  to  teaching,  the  most 
prefer  to  enter  the  service  of  the  college  or  the  university. 
Few  only,  so  far  as  my  acquaintance  goes,  seek  permanent 
careers  in  the  service  of  boys'  schools;  few  declare  that  they 
will  be  satisfied  with  the  opportunities  and  emoluments  of 
a  good  and  faithful  teacher.  Hence,  one  of  the  most  delight- 
ful of  intellectual  pursuits,  one  of  the  most  useful,  one  of  the 
most  honourable,  one  of  the  most  sacred,  is  in  danger  of 
falling  into  the  hands  of  inferior  men.  The  only  remedy 
that  I  can  see  is  for  the  head-masters,  trustees,  and  parents 
to  be  on  the  watch,  and  when  a  born  teacher  appears,  engage 
him,  reward  him,  encourage  him,  retain  him.  See  that  his 
path  is  free  from  stones,  that  he  is  not  overworked  or 
harassed,  and  that  he  is  kept  contented  in  his  lot.  Let  him 
be  sure  that  as  much  respect  and  as  much  income  will  be 
his  as  would  fall  to  his  portion  were  he  to  enter  the  pulpit 


312    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

or  be  called  to  the  bar.  Let  it  never  be  forgotten  that  the 
teacher's  gifts  are  as  rare  as  the  poet's.  The  methods  of 
education  can  make  scholars,  pedants,  specialists,  and  a  very 
narrow  man  may  live  in  his  den,  and  benefit  the  world  by 
patient  observations  and  minute  researches.  But  no  process 
has  been  discovered  for  making  teachers.  They  are  like 
gems,  that  must  be  found,  for  they  cannot  be  produced.  I 
would  rather  place  a  schoolboy  under  one  "  all-round  man," 
whose  manners,  morals,  and  intellectual  ways  were  exem- 
plary, and  who  was  capable  of  teaching  him  Homer  and 
Euclid,  than  under  a  group  of  specialists  selected  simply  as 
mathematicians,  physicists,  and  linguists.  Later  on,  when 
the  character  of  a  boy  is  established,  when  his  habits  are 
formed,  when  he  knows  how  to  study,  when  he  has  learned 
the  art  of  acquiring  knowledge  and  the  graces  of  expression, 
let  the  specialists  take  hold  of  him.  Even  then  let  it  be  pro- 
vided that  the  specialists  shall  not  be  too  narrow.  If  possible, 
choose  scientific  men  from  the  school  of  Agassiz,  Henry, 
Bache,  and  Dana;  and  linguists  from  the  school  of  Woolsey, 
Felton,  Whitney,  Drisler,  and  Gildersleeve — men  who  know 
multa  et  multum. 

As  to  the  curriculum  of  a  preparatory  school,  this  is  not 
the  place  to  measure  its  limits  or  its  requisites,  for  they  are 
virtually  determined  by  the  college  authorities,  not  by  the 
schoolmasters.  If  the  colleges  say  that  they  will  not  admit 
as  scholars  those  who  fail  to  show  a  knowledge  of  certain 
prescribed  studies,  the  preparatory  school  must  teach  those 
studies  or  must  close  its  doors;  there  is  no  middle  course. 
Boys  are  fitted  for  college  in  a  preparatory  school,  or  they 
are  not — that  is  the  only  question.  Nevertheless,  I  believe 
that  the  day  is  coming  when  there  will  be  a  revision  of  our 
educational  creed,  when  the  colleges  will  not  make  their 
entrance  examinations  such  rigid  tests  of  memory  as  they  are 
now,  but  will  contrive  to  make  them  tests  of  power.  Is  a 
boy  capable  of  carrying  forward  the  studies  of  the  college  ? — • 


DE   JUVENTUTE  313 

that  must  be  found  out.  His  capacity  to  retain  and  repeat 
what  he  has  learned  is  one  sign  of  his  qualifications,  but  there 
are  many  others  which  a  nicer  analysis  may  employ.  The 
qualitative  test  is  quite  as  important  as  the  quantitative.  Not 
the  size  of  the  brain,  but  its  structure,  determines  its  worth. 
The  possession  of  ten  thousand  facts  may  distinguish  an  idiot, 
but  an  idiot  gives  no  proper  emphasis;  he  does  not  perceive 
the  difference  between  the  trifling  and  the  fundamental.  Yet 
an  extraordinary  memory  may  also  distinguish  a  scholar. 
Lord  Macaulay,  for  example,  was  heard  to  say  that  if  by 
some  miracle  of  vandalism  all  copies  of  "  Paradise  Lost  "  and 
the  "  Pilgrim's  Progress  "  were  destroyed,  he  would  under- 
take to  reproduce  them  both  from  recollection.  A  scholar 
holds  his  knowledge  in  well-arranged  groups,  under  certain 
principles,  under  certain  laws;  he  is  constantly  exercising 
his  judgment,  his  discrimination,  his  reason.  He  knows 
where  to  lay  the  stress;  he  does  not  confound  the  essential 
with  its  accidents. 

Whenever  the  time  comes  for  a  revision  of  the  curriculum 
of  the  preparatory  school,  three  subjects  should  receive  much 
more  attention  than  is  now  given  to  them.  The  study  of 
science  should  be  so  pursued  that  the  habit  of  close  observa- 
tion and  of  reasoning  upon  ascertained  facts  should  at  least  be 
initiated.  Nature  should  be  approached  by  the  schoolboy  as 
a  willing  and  ever-present  teacher.  Her  lessons  should  be 
the  delight  of  every  adolescent.  When  we  remember  that  in 
contemplating  the  heavens,  in  watching  the  life  of  plants  and 
animals,  in  the  observation  of  the  modes  of  motion,  and  in 
studying  the  inorganic  world  there  are  innumerable  and  in- 
finitely varied  opportunities  to  awaken  curiosity,  to  train  the 
eye  and  the  hand,  to  exercise  the  judgment,  to  reward  in- 
vestigation— how  strange  that  so  little  progress  is  made  in  the 
introduction  of  scientific  studies  in  elementary  education! 
Modern  languages  also,  especially  French  and  German,  are 
nowadays  indispensable  in  a  liberal  education;  and  they  are 


THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

much  more  readily  acquired  in  childhood  than  in  maturity. 
How  are  they  to  get  just  recognition  in  the  preparatory 
schools?  An  acquaintance  with  the  Bible  should  also  be  re- 
quired of  every  schoolboy.  College  professors  have  lately 
been  showing  how  ignorant  the  youth  of  America  are  of  the 
history,  the  geography,  the  biography,  and  the  literature  of 
the  sacred  books.  I  do  not  refer  to  its  religious  lessons,  but 
I  speak  of  the  Bible  as  the  basis  of  our  social  fabric,  as  the 
embodiment  ef  the  most  instructive  human  experiences,  as  a 
collection  of  poems,  histories,  precepts,  laws,  and  examples, 
priceless  in  importance  to  the  human  race.  These  Scriptures 
have  pervaded  our  literature.  All  this  inheritance  we  possess 
in  a  version  which  is  unique.  Its  marvellous  diction,  se- 
cured by  the  revisions  of  many  centuries,  and  its  substantial 
accuracy,  the  care  of  many  generations  of  scholars,  are  be- 
yond our  praise.  But  how  little  study  does  the  schoolboy 
give  to  this  book  in  secular  or  sacred  hours ;  how  ignorant  may 
he  really  be  of  that  which  is  supposed  to  be  his  daily  coun- 
sellor! Science,  modern  languages,  and  the  Bible  have  been 
so  long  neglected  in  preparatory  schools  that  it  is  extremely 
hard  nowadays  to  find  effective  teachers  for  these  subjects. 
There  is  no  consensus  as  to  books,  no  tradition  respecting 
methods.  Perhaps  we  are  waiting  for  the  waters  to  be  dis- 
turbed by  the  angel  of  deliverance,  but  we  shall  wait  in  vain 
unless  we  put  forth  efforts  of  our  own  to  reach  the  true 
remedies.  The  day  will  come  for  better  things;  we  can  see 
its  approaches. 

Meanwhile,  it  is  just  as  well  to  remember  that  there  is 
nothing  sacred  in  our  present  curriculum.  It  is  a  method 
which  generally  produces  good  results,  but  it  is  no  catholicon. 
Its  defects  are  perceived  by  this  generation,  and  the  next  will 
provide  the  remedies.  Thus  slowly  move  the  wheels. 

If  now  you  ask  me  to  sum  up  the  impressions  that  I  have 
endeavoured  to  convey,  remember  that  in  speaking  of  a 
preparatory  school,  even  in  the  surroundings  of  thi»  well- 


DE   JUVENTATE  315 

equipped  establishment,  your  thoughts  have  not  been  directed 
to  the  buildings,  the  apparatus,  or  the  library,  to  the  hon- 
ourary  patrons,  or  to  the  titular  distinctions  of  the  staff,  and 
that  even  the  gymnasium  and  the  oval  have  not  been  made  un- 
duly prominent;  but  you  have  been  reminded,  parents, 
teachers,  scholars,  that  a  good  preparatory  school  for  boys  is 
a  place  where  those  who  wish  a  liberal  education,  and  those 
who  think  that  a  preparation  for  college  is  also  a  preparation 
for  life,  are  engaged  in  acquiring  physical,  intellectual,  and 
moral  habits. 

"  Self-reverence,  self-knowledge,  self-control, — 
These  three  alone  lead  life  to  sovereign  power." 

Biography  and  psychology  agree  in  teaching  us  that  in  the 
development  of  the  man  from  the  boy,  four  factors  are  always 
at  work:  heredity,  environment,  education,  and  volition. 
If  a  simpler  form  of  speech  is  preferred,  let  it  be  this, — 
our  parents,  our  homes,  our  schools,  and  our  wills  make 
ourselves. 


GREEK  ART  IN  A  MANUFACTURING 
TOWN  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


Norwich,  Connecticut,  one  of  the  oldest  and  one  of 
the  most  beautiful  towns  in  the  State,  has  two 
characteristics.  It  is  the  home  of  refined  and  intelli- 
gent people,  naturally  conservative  of  their  early  Eng- 
lish traditions,  and  ready  to  lend  a  hand  in  all  philan- 
thropic, educational,  and  patriotic  movements  for  the 
good  of  society.  It  is  also  the  seat  of  extensive  indus- 
trial establishments,  where  several  thousands  of  persons 
are  engaged  in  handicrafts.  The  Norwich  Free  Acad- 
emy, a  high  school  of  the  first  class,  founded  more  than 
thirty  years  ago  by  private  subscriptions,  protects  the 
interests  of  both  these  classes,  for  it  offers  a  superior 
education  on  terms  that  all  can  accept.  Mr.  William 
A.  Slater,  the  son  and  heir  of  a  well-known  manu- 
facturer, has  lately  given  to  this  Academy — where  he 
was  prepared  for  Harvard  College — a  large  memorial 
building,  one  hall  of  which  was  designed  for  a 
Museum.  This  hall  he  has  now  filled  with  a  choice 
collection  of  casts,  photographs,  coins,  examples  of 
ancient  armour  and  plate,  and  other  objects  brought 
together  at  his  request  by  Mr.  Edward  Robinson  of  the 
Museum  of  the  Fine  Arts  in  Boston.  The  Museum  in 
Norwich  was  opened  November  22,  1888.  Professor 
Norton,  of  Cambridge,  gave  the  principal  address — 
a  noble  appeal  for  the  encouragement  of  the  Fine  Arts, 
and  a  beautiful  portrayal  of  their  influence  upon  the 
highest  interests  of  mankind.  When  he  concluded  I 
was  called  out  by  the  principal  of  the  Academy,  Dr. 
Keep,  as  a  native  of  Norwich  and  a  school  boy  of  the 
old  Academy,  and  I  spoke  as  follows  on  the  possible 
influence  of  the  Slater  Museum  upon  the  education 
and  industry  of  Norwich. 


XVIII 

GREEK  ART  IN  A  MANUFACTURING  TOWN  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

IN  the  opening  of  a  museum  where  ancient  Greek  art  pre- 
dominates, may  I  be  allowed  to  quote  certain  lines  of  ancient 
Greek  poetry,  which,  like  many  of  the  statues  here  brought 
together,  have  come  down  to  us  in  fragments.  I  bring  these 
lines  before  you,  not  in  their  original  form,  "  but  as  a  re- 
production of  the  antique." 

Two  fragments  of  Sappho,  first  joined  by  Lachmann,  have 
thus  been  rendered : 1 

"  The  bowl  of  ambrosia  was  mixed,  and  Hermes  took 
the  ladle  to  pour  out  for  the  gods;  and  then  they  all  held 
goblets,  and  made  libation,  and  wished  the  bridegroom  all 
good  luck."  Now  if  I  may,  in  the  presence  of  Dr.  Keep 
and  all  these  learned  persons  from  far  and  near,  reiterate 
these  words,  I  will  construe  them  as  follows :  "  The  bowl 
of  ambrosia  was  mixed''  that  is,  these  works  of  art  have  been 
brought  together;  "Hermes  took  the  ladle" — the  historian 
of  the  Fine  Arts  has  told  us  of  the  meaning  of  these  treasures ; 
"  They  all  held  goblets  " — our  cups  are  running  over;  "  they 
made  libation,  and  wished  the  bridegroom  all  good  luck  " — 
so  we  pour  out  our  gratitude  and  wish  Mr.  Slater  all  good 
luck.  May  he  live  a  hundred  years,  and  be  happy ! 

My  opportunity  on  this  platform  is  to  utter  the  thanks  of 
the  schoolboys  and  schoolgirls  of  Norwich,  past,  present, 
and  to  come.  When  I  remember  how  the  Academy  boys  in 
my  youth  read  their  Rollings  Ancient  History,  and  pored 
over  the  pages  of  old  Lempriere,  without  so  much  as  a  margi- 
nal cut  to  aid  their  imagination,  how  photographs  and  casts 

i  By  H«nry  T.  Wharton,  of  Oxfotd,  In  his  "  Sappho,"  Lond.,  1887. 

3Z9 


320    THE   LAUNCHING  OF  A  UNIVERSITY 

were  unknown,  and  the  tale  of  a  returning  traveller  was  al- 
most as  rare  as  the  voice  of  a  nightingale, — and  then  turn  to 
the  wealth  of  illustrations  collected  beneath  this  roof — books, 
plates,  photographs,  casts,  coins,  and  reproductions  of  ancient 
plate — a  collection  unsurpassed,  perhaps  unequalled,  by  any 
that  is  owned  by  any  college  in  the  land,  the  libation  of  ad- 
miration and  gratitude  is  most  heartily  poured  out.  Here  is 
a  museum  already  well  filled  with  objects  carefully  chosen, 
charmingly  arranged,  well  catalogued,  and  freely  opened. 
"  Well  thought  out,  well  wrought  out,  well  brought  out." 
A  new  intellectual  force  has  been  here  introduced — destined 
to  awaken,  develop,  and  instruct  the  love  of  beauty.  Con- 
sider what  this  means.  "  The  poetic  passion,  the  desire 
of  beauty,  the  love  of  art  for  art's  sake,  is  most  re- 
warding," says  Pater,  "  for  art  comes  to  you  professing  to 
give  nothing  but  the  highest  quality  to  your  moments  as  they 
pass,  and  simply  for  the  moment's  sake."  Let  us  con- 
sider this  utterance  with  an  immediate  reference  to  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  museum  in  the  town  of  Norwich.  What 
will  be  its  educational  value? 

Some  young  artists  will  certainly  be  helped  by  these  col- 
lections at  the  beginning  of  their  careers.  The  creative  mind 
may  yet  be  born  or  bred  in  this  community — it  may  be  that 
one  is  here  already — who  will  find  his  aspirations  quickened, 
his  soul  enlarged,  his  knowledge  extended,  and  his  skill  en- 
hanced by  the  sight  of  these  masterpieces  of  antiquity  and  of 
the  renaissance.  Let  me  remind  you  that  the  one  American 
painter  of  the  revolutionary  period,  whose  works  are  now  re- 
membered, Colonel  John  Trumbull,  was  a  schoolboy  in 
Lebanon  before  he  graduated  in  Harvard  College,  and  that 
one  of  the  very  few  sculptors  whose  works  are  held  in  honour 
by  their  native  State  was  a  schoolboy  in  Colchester  before 
he  went  abroad.  I  remember  visiting  Bartholomew,  this 
Connecticut  sculptor,  in  his  studio  in  Rome,  and  I  heard 
him  quote,  with  the  bitterness  of  conscious  yet  unencouraged 


GREEK    ART  321 

talent,  words  with  which  the  father  of  Colonel  Trumbull 
endeavoured  to  dissuade  his  son  from  the  business  of  a 
"  limner  " — "  My  son,  remember  that  Connecticut  is  not 
Athens."  If  talent  appears  in  our  day,  opportunity  stands 
ready  to  extend  a  welcome ;  much  more  will  genius  be  greeted 
by  a  helping  hand. 

But  this  museum  will  benefit  a  wider  circle  than  that  of 
the  prospective  artists.  To  any  student  it  may  prove  to  be 
the  interpreter  of  history,  the  key  to  human  culture,  the  guide 
to  monuments  of  past  civilisation.  Here  light  is  thrown  upon 
the  art,  the  architecture,  the  decorations,  the  coinage,  the 
biography,  the  mythology,  the  religion  of  the  most  interest- 
ing epochs  of  the  past.  New  interest  will  likewise  be  im- 
parted to  the  study  of  ancient  literature,  whether  the  classics 
are  read  in  their  original  form  or  in  the  masterly  translations 
which  modern  scholarship  has  given  us.  Nor  will  this 
museum  interpret  ancient  books  alone.  The  visitor  to  these 
galleries  will  soon  begin  to  ask  for  Winckelmann's  "  History 
of  Art,"  and  for  Lessing's  "  Laocoon " ;  Wordsworth's 
"  Greece,"  and  the  records  of  recent  discoveries  in  Olympia, 
Mycenae,  and  Troy  will  be  read  with  fresh  interest ;  Ruskin, 
Taine,  Pater,  Symonds,  Hamerton  will  be  in  demand;  the 
Earthly  Paradise  will  be  revisited,  and  the  Marble  Faun  will 
renew  its  youth;  nor  will  the  new  volume  of  Lanciani, 
carried  through  the  press  by  the  same  skilful  hands  that  have 
arranged  this  museum,  fail  to  be  read,  as  it  describes  with 
the  enthusiasm  of  an  archaeological  Columbus  the  discovery 
of  sites  and  monuments  unknown  a  few  years  since. 

To  many  in  this  audience  these  will  seem  the  highest,  and 
perhaps  the  only  educational  uses  of  a  museum  like  this.  Yet 
when  I  remember  that  most  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  town — 
I  should  think  at  least  three-fourths — are  dependent  for  daily 
bread  upon  the  daily  toil  of  somebody;  that  they  owe  their 
livelihood,  directly  or  indirectly,  to  the  industry  of  manufac- 
tures, I  shall  offer  no  apology  for  dwelling  upon  another  re- 


322    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

suit  which  may  be  expected  to  follow  this  auspicious  begin- 
ning— a  result,  less  obvious,  perhaps  more  subtle,  than  those 
before  mentioned,  but  not  less  important,  not  less  enduring. 
I  allude  to  the  influence  of  art  upon  industry. 

With  other  New  England  towns,  Norwich  prospers,  not 
because  it  is  near  the  supplies  of  coal  and  iron,  like  Birming- 
ham, Manchester,  Pittsburg,  and  Liege — but  because  of  the 
skill  it  employs  in  using  the  products  that  are  brought  here 
from  a  distance.  It  applies  brains  to  labour.  The  people  are 
ingenious,  enterprising,  thrifty,  and  industrious,  and  they 
know  how  to  turn  the  raw  materials  of  distant  regions  into 
the  finest  of  cotton  fabrics,  the  best  of  printing  paper,  into 
complex  machinery,  pistols  that  will  hit  the  mark,  blankets, 
stoves,  and  I  know  not  how  many  other  products  of  the  loom, 
the  machine-shop,  or  the  foundry.  This  is  just  as  it  should 
be.  But  far-sighted  manufacturers  are  well  aware  that  in  all 
these  forms  of  industry  the  competition  of  the  world  is 
bringing  forward  new  rivals.  Beyond  the  Alleghenies,  and 
far  south  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line,  staple  manufactures 
are  now  established.  To  maintain  its  pre-eminence,  Nor- 
wich must  continue  to  apply  its  brains  to  its  labour;  it  must 
do  what  it  undertakes  better  than  can  be  done  elsewhere. 
It  must  continue  to  devise  labour-saving  processes  and  ma- 
chines, and  it  must  make  its  products  attractive.  The  art- 
element  in  Norwich  manufactures  is  as  yet  scarcely  mani- 
fested. In  the  future,  beauty  must  be  added  to  utility;  to 
solidity,  grace  must  be  given;  art  must  be  allied  to  craft. 
Norwich  must  remember  that  the  manufactures  of  Paris, 
Vienna,  and  Berlin  spread  the  wide  world  over  because  they 
are  so  attractive.  No  amount  of  duties  will  exclude  them. 
People  who  have  the  money  will  buy  what  they  like,  and  the 
number  of  people  who  like  the  beautiful  in  form,  in  colour, 
in  material,  and  in  decoration  increases  far  more  rapidly  than 
the  population. 

Now  to  show  the  bearing  of  these  remarks  on  the  possi- 


GREEK  ART  323 

bilities  of  this  museum,  let  me  repeat  a  story,  told  before. 
Nearly  twenty  years  ago,  in  company  with  a  citizen  of 
Norwich  whose  name  always  awakens  the  sentiment  of  ad- 
miration and  gratitude,  Governor  Buckingham,  the  patriot, 
I  visited  a  well-known  factory  where  the  best  and  most 
beautiful  of  carpets  are  made — those  which  are  known  in  the 
market  as  English  Brussels.  "  Where  do  you  get  your  de- 
signs," said  I,  "from  the  English  manufacturers?"  "Oh, 
no,"  said  the  superintendent,  "  our  patterns  are  original." 
"  Do  you  mean  that  they  are  the  work  of  American  de- 
signers ?  "  "  Not  that,"  he  replied,  "  they  are  sent  to  us  by 
mail  from  Paris."  "  Why  don't  you  bring  the  designers 
here?  "  "  We  have  tried  to,"  was  his  answer,  "  but  they  will 
not  come.  They  say  that  they  would  dry  up  in  New  Eng- 
land. Here  is  nothing  suggestive;  nothing  stimulating; 
nothing  critical  in  the  way  of  art." 

Now  for  the  other  side.  What  makes  Paris  so  fertile  in 
the  arts  of  design  ?  Why  is  it  that  in  every  branch  of  orna- 
mental industry  French  taste  is  preferred  ?  Why  are  articles 
de  Paris  j  the  bronzes,  the  jewellery,  the  silks,  the  laces,  the 
stationery,  the  upholstery,  the  tapisserie,  the  book  binding, 
the  clocks,  the  porcelains,  the  vases,  the  ornaments  of  every 
sort,  so  attractive,  so  beautiful?  It  is  because  of  the  art  em- 
ployed in  their  design.  And  whence  this  art?  Go  back 
two  hundred  years  or  more  and  you  will  find  in  public  life 
at  Paris  one  of  the  most  versatile,  enlightened,  and  influential 
statesmen  that  has  ever  lived — a  statesman  whose  renown 
does  not  rest  on  strategy  or  war,  but  who  won  the  proud 
title  of  the  Minister  of  Peace.  This  statesman  was  Colbert. 
Not  all  that  is  known  as  Colbertism  is  to  be  upheld, — but  one 
thing  he  did  which  entitles  him  to  the  highest  praise.  He 
gave  all  the  influence  of  his  high  station  to  the  encouragement 
of  science,  literature,  and  art.  He  laid  the  foundations  of  the 
Louvre,  that  great  museum  of  art.  A  very  large  number  of 
the  paintings  and  statues  in  that  collection  were  bought  by 


324    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

his  command.  At  his  request,  the  Abbe  Benedetti  in  Rome 
caused  casts  to  be  made  of  all  the  most  celebrated  statues  and 
vases,  and  a  little  later,  Evrard,  Director  of  the  Academy 
of  Rome,  was  directed  to  copy  and  send  to  Paris  everything 
beautiful  of  whatever  kind.  From  that  period  until  now 
Paris  has  maintained  its  supremacy  in  artistic  manufac- 
ture. 

Perhaps  at  some  future  time  Norwich  may  have  an  ex- 
hibition of  "  Arts  and  Crafts  "  like  that  which  has  recently 
been  held  in  London.  Certainly  to  the  promotion  of  Arts 
and  Crafts  the  collections  of  the  Slater  Museum  wTill  tend. 
But  let  it  not  be  forgotten  that  beyond  the  pleasure  to  be 
afforded  to  the  purchaser,  the  pleasure  to  be  afforded 
to  the  workman  is  incalculable.  Upon  this  point,  the  im- 
pressive words  of  Professor  Norton,  to  which  we  have 
just  listened,  need  no  emphasis  from  me.  Let  us  take  his 
admonitions  home.  But  let  me  commend  to  the  authorities 
of  this  academy  another  word  of  the  orator  of  the  day.  In 
speaking  of  the  present  condition  of  intellectual  life  in 
America,  he  says: 

"  It  is  to  the  institutions  which  provide  the  means  of  the 
highest  education  that  the  best  interests  of  our  national  life 
are  specially  committed.  ...  If  life  in  America  is 
to  become  worthy  of  its  unparalleled  opportunities,  .  .  . 
it  is  by  the  support,  the  increase,  the  steady  improvement  of 
the  institutions  devoted  to  the  highest  education  of  youth."  3 

Let  the  managers  of  this  academy  enlarge  its  facilities,  in- 
crease its  staff  of  teachers,  widen  the  opportunities  to  profit 
by  this  noble  gift. 

I  will  not  detain  you  longer — ladies  and  gentlemen  who 
have  favoured  me  with  your  attention — from  a  return  to  the 
galleries  now  open  to  you,  but  as  I  began  with  a  fragment 
from  Sappho,  I  will  close  with  a  fragment  from  Sophocles 

8  Professor  Norton  in  the  New  Princton  Review,  November,  1888, 


GREEK  ART  325 

and  with  these  words  bid  you  enter  the  hall  where  the  faces 
of  Sappho  and  of  Sophocles  will  welcome  you  5 

"Let  us  now  go,  O  boys,  to  where  the  wise 
Impart  their  knowledge  of  the  muses'  arts, 
Each  day  we  need  to  take  some  forward  step 
Till  we  gain  power  to  study  nobler  things." 
(Plumptre's    Version.), 


I 

UNiV 

o 
-  ~  ^ 


A  STUDY  IN  BLACK  AND  WHITE 


Mr.  Morris  K.  Jesup,  of  New  York,  presented  to  the 
Hampton  Normal  and  Industrial  Institute  a  building 
which  he  named  after  General  S.  C.  Armstrong  and 
Mr.  John  F.  Slater,  the  Armstrong-Slater  Trade  School 
Building;  and  by  request  of  the  authorities,  the  fol- 
lowing address  was  delivered  when  the  building  was 
thrown  open  to  the  public  on  November  x8,  1896. 


XIX 

A  STUDY  IN  BLACK  AND  WHITE 

AN  occasion  like  this  suggests  delightful  memories, — such 
as  those  to  which  your  attention  has  been  called, — of  Slater, 
the  philanthropist;  of  Armstrong,  the  inspiring  leader;  and 
of  many  others  who  have  worked  in  their  spirit.  It  suggests 
congratulations  to  Dr.  Frissell  and  his  staff  of  teachers,  on 
this  addition  to  their  means  of  instruction.  It  suggests  en- 
couragement to  all  who  are  engaged  in  the  uplifting  of  the 
Negro,  and  anticipations  of  even  better  results  in  the  future 
than  have  been  attained  in  the  past. 

What  does  this  assembly  represent?  On  the  one  hand, 
those  who  stand  for  the  best  that  the  white  race  has  produced, 
the  fruit  of  many  generations,  developed  under  the  sunshine 
of  freedom,  religion  and  education;  and,  on  the  other  hand, 
those  who  represent  the  capacity,  the  hopes,  and  the  prospects 
of  races  but  lately  emerging  from  bondage  or  barbarism,  error 
and  illiteracy.  The  light-bearers  are  here,  ready  to  hand  to 
the  light-seekers  the  torch  which  shall  illuminate  the  path  of 
progress. 

Have  you  never  seen,  in  a  lecture  on  physics,  two  mirrors 
so  constructed  and  so  placed  that  the  rays  of  a  lighted  candle 
are  collected  upon  one  reflector,  and  sent  to  the  opposite  re- 
flector, and  there  so  concentrated  as  to  light  a  candle  placed  in 
the  focus  of  the  latter?  This  image  may  illustrate  our  atti- 
tude to-day.  Those  who  have  freely  received  the  light  bestow 
it  upon  those  who  stand  in  need.  Giving  does  not  im- 
poverish. The  two  candles  shed  more  light  and  heat  than 
one. 

What  does  this  occasion  signify?  It  signifies  that  the 

329 


330    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY! 

work  of  Hampton,  already  most  successful,  is  to  be  enlarged 
and  made  better.  A  new  building,  constructed  by  private 
generosity,  is  now  opened  for  instruction  in  the  methods 
which  underlie  those  trades  that  must  be  practised  in  every 
part  of  the  country. 

Under  these  circumstances,  I  invite  you  to  "  A  Study  in 
Black  and  White,"  leading  up  to  an  appreciation  of  the  re- 
wards of  skilful  work,  the  pleasures  of  exertion. 

Two  papers  have  lately  been  prepared  for  the  John  F. 
Slater  Trustees  by  Mr.  Henry  Gannett,  of  Washington ;  the 
one  devoted  to  the  movement  of  the  coloured  population;  its 
vitality,  its  rate  of  increase  in  different  regions  and  its  tenden- 
cies toward  city  life;  the  other,  an  original  study  (not  to  be 
found  elsewhere)  of  the  occupations  of  the  Negro,  as  shown 
by  the  data  collected  in  the  last  United  States  Census.  With 
these  statistics  should  be  read  Dr.  Curry's  paper  in  the  same 
series,  on  the  Progress  of  the  Education  of  the  Negro ;  and  a 
still  more  recent  summary,  by  the  same  high  authority,  on  the 
general  progress  of  Education  in  the  Southern  States  during 
the  last  thirty  years,  presented  last  October  to  the  Trustees 
of  the  Peabody  Educational  Fund. 

The  study  of  these  papers  will  assure  anybody  that  the 
results  that  have  been  accomplished  since  the  war  are  simply 
astounding.  Great  exertions,  indeed,  have  been  put  forth, 
and  great  sacrifices  have  been  made.  Large  sums  of  money 
have  been  contributed  by  private  individuals,  and  generous 
appropriations  have  been  devoted  to  public  instruction  in 
almost  every  Southern  State;  but  the  outcome  far  surpasses 
the  highest  anticipations.  For  example,  in  the  Hampton 
Institute,  we  may  see,  in  a  microcosm,  what  is  in  progress 
throughout  the  vast  territory  of  the  United  States.  I  will 
not,  however,  deny  that  Hampton  stands  at  the  front  among 
the  agencies  devoted  to  the  education  of  the  coloured  people. 

Never  in  the  record  of  mankind,  before  our  times,  have 


A   STUDY   IN   BLACK  AND   WHITE        331 

millions  of  slaves — whose  ancestors  in  former  generations 
had  been  the  children  of  ignorance  and  superstition — re- 
ceived in  a  day  the  privileges  of  citizens,  become  equal  before 
the  law  and  entitled  to  all  the  rights,  duties,  and  responsi- 
bilities of  freemen.  We  are  dealing  at  Hampton  with  a  few 
hundreds  of  the  more  intelligent  and  capable  of  their  race. 
The  same  work  goes  on  at  Tuskegee  and  elsewhere,  but  these 
select  and  favoured  scholars  are  chosen  out  of  eight  millions 
of  the  blacks,  and  these  eight  millions  are  but  the  forerunners 
of  a  hundred  millions  who  will  come  after  them.  It  is  no 
wonder  that  the  statesmen,  the  philanthropists,  and  the  sci- 
entific men  of  the  world  are  looking  with  profound  interest 
upon  the  solution  of  a  problem  which  is  unprecedented  in  the 
history  of  mankind. 

Now  let  us  bring  to  mind  the  actual  condition  of  affairs 
in  this  country.  Congress  has  conferred  upon  the  Negro  the 
rights  and  duties  and  responsibilities  of  citizenship.  Churches 
of  all  denominations  are  spreading  the  gracious  influences  of 
the  Christian  religion.  Private  philanthropy  gives  special 
education.  The  action  of  every  State  in  the  Union  main- 
tains public  schools.  Thus  we  may  say  that,  in  this  country, 
the  black  man  is  receiving  or  has  received  through  the  white 
man  three  great  benefits — political  freedom,  the  Christian 
religion,  and  the  opportunity  to  acquire  knowledge. 

At  the  present  time  we  can  only  consider  the  third  of  these 
great  opportunities.  As  I  have  already  said,  the  public 
school  system  is  open  to  the  blacks  as  to  the  whites  through- 
out the  Union.  Opportunities  are  also  provided  for  the 
exceptional  cases  that  require  professional  instruction.  There 
are  also  special  foundations,  some  managed  by  the  States  and 
some  by  beneficent  associations,  some  supported  by  public 
funds  and  some  by  private  or  ecclesiastical  liberality,  and 
some  by  partial  aid  from  the  Slater  and  Peabody  funds. 
Such  is  the  work  now  going  forward. 

Let  us  look  toward  the  future.    The  education  of  a  race  is 


332    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

a  very  complex  subject  if  we  think  of  it  as  a  whole;  but  if 
we  remember  that  the  education  of  a  race  means  the  educa- 
tion of  the  individuals  in  that  race,  the  problem  is  simplified, 
for  we  quickly  perceive  that  the  training  of  every  person  in- 
volves three  elements — the  formation  of  habits,  the  acqui- 
sition of  skill  and  the  performance  of  work.  Accordingly, 
that  institution  or  school  is  best  which  enforces  habits  of 
order,  attention,  obedience,  discrimination,  memory;  which 
then  secures  skill  in  hand-craft  and  rede-craft,  and  likewise 
shows  how  these  habits  and  this  skill  may  be  applied  in 
useful  avocations. 

Careful  observers  are  agreed  that  among  the  blacks  there  is 
at  this  time  the  special  need  of  well-trained  teachers,  artisans, 
and  tillers  of  the  soil,  and  that  Hampton  and  other  Institu- 
tions engaged  in  kindred  work  should  introduce,  as  far  as 
possible,  the  methods  of  "  the  new  education  "  which  have 
been  developed  among  the  whites  during  the  last  half  century. 
This  "  new  education,"  as  it  is  called,  is  largely  the  educa- 
tion of  the  hand. 

During  the  present  generation  there  has  been  a  remarkable 
change  in  the  instruction  of  whites  in  schools  of  every  grade, 
from  the  Kindergarten  to  the  University.  In  one  form  or 
another,  hand-craft  has  been  restored  to  the  place  from  which 
it  was  long  excluded  by  rede-craft.  The  change  has  not  been 
accomplished  without  experiment,  controversy,  difficulty,  and 
failure ;  but,  at  last,  I  think  we  may  claim  that  the  victory  is 
won  and  that  no  scheme  of  study  can  be  regarded  as  complete 
unless  the  study  of  books  is  constantly  supplemented  by  the 
study  of  objects.  The  young  must  be  taught  to  acquire 
knowledge  by  the  observation  of  nature  and  her  forces,  as 
well  as  by  reading  the  observations  of  others  respecting 
nature;  and  the  character  must  be  developed  not  merely  by 
the  exercise  of  memory  and  by  the  interpretation  of  written 
documents,  but  also  by  the  training  of  our  youth  to  useful 
occupations. 


A   STUDY   IN   BLACK  AND   WHITE        333 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  useful  occupations  are  as 
varied  as  the  ages  of  men  and  the  wants  of  civilised  society. 
The  pen,  the  pencil,  the  needle,  the  knife,  the  retort,  the  lathe, 
the  carpenter's  chest,  the  blacksmith's  forge,  the  microscope 
and  the  telescope,  the  dynamo,  the  steam  engine — all  of  these, 
vastly  as  they  differ  from  one  another,  are  implements 
by  which  hand-craft  is  acquired,  by  which  work  is  per- 
formed. 

Experience  has  shown  that  this  training  may  have  four 
objects, — any  one  of  them,  or  all. 

1.  The  training  of  the  hand,  which  should  begin  in  very 
early   life   and   should    never   be   given    up, — or    Manual 
education. 

2.  The  employment  of  this  training  in  useful  pursuits  and 
occupations,    especially    those    of    fundamental    value,    like 
working  in  wood,  metals,  bricks,  stone,  etc. — or  Industrial 
education. 

3.  The  acquisition  of  some  important  art  or  trade,  the 
making  of  artisans,  builders,  mechanics,  skilled  farmers,  etc. — 
or  Technical  training. 

4.  The  advancement  of  knowledge  and  the  prosecution  of 
research, — or  Scientific  training. 

Do  not  suppose  that  the  boundary  lines  between  these  four 
groups  are  sharp  and  clear;  each  overlaps  the  other.  The 
most  advanced  chemist  and  electrician  is  still  disciplining  his 
hand  to  greater  facility.  The  work  of  the  surgeon,  as  long 
as  he  practises,  is  in  the  discipline  of  his  hand.  He  is  fitly 
called  a  chirurgeon,  a  hand-worker. 

Let  us  now  think  of  three  callings  in  which  many,  perhaps 
most  of  the  Hampton  graduates,  are  likely  to  be  engaged. 

i.  Teachers.  It  used  to  be  thought  that  anybody  could 
teach  who  knew  a  little  more  than  the  scholar.  Now  it  is 
demonstrated  that  methods  of  instruction  are  just  as  im- 
portant as  the  matter  of  instruction ;  that  good  teachers  must 
know  the  best  arts  of  awaking  the  dull,  guiding  the  way- 


334    THE   LAUNCHING   OF  A   UNIVERSITY 

ward,  and  developing  the  promising ;  and  that  they  themselves 
should  be  trained  in  hand-craft.  Women  are  especially  fitted 
for  this  work,  particularly  in  elementary  schools.  Dr.  Stan- 
ley Hall,  in  a  recent  speech  at  South  Hadley,  pleads  for 
chairs  of  pedagogics  for  women,  "  not  only  because  she  does 
most  of  the  teaching  in  this  world,  but  because  the  school  is 
good  almost  in  direct  proportion  as  it  becomes  like  home." 
Now  teachers  must  be  themselves  fitted  for  their  vocation. 
They  must  learn  how  to  awaken  in  their  scholars  a  love  of 
exertion. 

2.  Farmers.  The  whites  have  only  just  waked  up  to  the 
importance  of  training  men  to  be  farmers.     In  a  recent  notice 
in  the  North  American  Review   Mr.  Harwood  has  summed 
up  the  experience  of  the  United  States  since  the  first  Agri- 
cultural College  in  the  United   States  was  established   in 
Michigan  in  1857,  and  tne  first  Experiment  Station  in  Con- 
necticut in  1875.     Anyone  who  will  look  at  that  report,  or 
at  the  papers  printed  by  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture, or  at  such  illustrations  of  the  work  of  that  department 
as  are  on  exhibition  constantly  in  Washington  and  occa- 
sionally elsewhere  (as  at  Chicago,  Atlanta,  etc.),  will  per- 
ceive that  to  be  skilled  in  agriculture  is  to  be  skilled  in  one  of 
the  most  interesting  the  most  complex,  the  most  difficult, 
and  the  most  useful  of  all  human  occupations.     When  in- 
telligence guides  the  operations  of  the  farm,  those  operations, 
those  pursuits  are  elevating,  stimulating,  and  rewarding. 

3.  Artisans.  Under  this  term  may  be  included  all  who 
work  in  any  branch  of  the  mechanical  arts  or  with  any  kind 
of  instrument  or  machine.     The  progress  made  in  industrial 
education,  within  the  limits  of  a  single  generation,  is  mar- 
vellous.    Prior  to  the  great  exhibition  in  Philadelphia  little 
was  known  as  to  the  methods  suitable  for  training  artisans. 
Scientific  schools  had  indeed  been  established  for  advanced 
professional  life,  and,  to  some  extent,  technical  institutes  were 
provided  for  the  training  of  chemists,  engineers,  and  the  like ; 


A   STUDY   IN   BLACK  AND   WHITE      335 

but,  in  this  country  at  least,  the  training  of  mechanics  had 
been  very  much  neglected.  The  exhibition  just  referred  to 
brought  clearly  before  the  American  teachers  the  processes 
devised  by  Dellavos,  a  Russian,  in  1868.  The  keynote  to 
the  methods  that  he  employed  was  this,  "  Instruction  before 
Construction."  Professor  Woodward  of  St.  Louis  declares 
that  this  made  a  revolution  in  industrial  training.  Read  his 
article  on  Manual  Training  in  the  new  edition  of  Johnson's 
Encyclopaedia. 

In  a  valuable  report  by  Mr.  Addis  on  Negro  Education, 
lately  printed  (U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education)  I  noticed  the  re- 
mark :  that  nearly  all  the  schools  for  the  blacks,  say,  in  their 
catalogues,  that  their  principal  object  is  to  teach  the  "  Dig- 
nity of  Labour  " ;  and  another  writer,  in  the  Southern  Work- 
man, makes  a  similar  remark.  I  would  rather  speak  of  the 
Enjoyment  of  Work;  enjoyment  which  may  have  these  ele- 
ments :  the  acquisition  of  a  livelihood  for  one's  self  and  others, 
or  pecuniary  reward ;  the  pleasure  of  exercising  the  powers  of 
body  with  which  we  are  endowed;  and  the  employment  of 
skill.  In  other  words,  there  may  be,  there  should  be,  in 
rightly  directed  labour,  moral,  physical  and  intellectual 
enjoyment. 

The  very  history  of  the  word  "  work,"  if  you  will  look  it 
up,  is  an  epitome  of  the  history  of  civilisation.  From  the 
Greeks  to  the  Saxons,  from  the  Saxons  to  the  English,  from 
the  English  to  the  Americans,  from  the  Americans  to  the 
Africans,  the  word  is  handed  down.  "  Work,  work,  work," 
has  distinguished  every  progressive  and  prosperous  race. 
"  Sloth,  sloth,  sloth,"  has  been  the  characteristic  of  decadence 
and  imbecility.  The  writer,  the  poet,  the  musical  composer, 
the  artist  are  remembered  by  their  "  Works."  The  builder, 
the  farmer,  the  artisan  are  good  or  bad  workmen.  The 
president  of  the  United  States,  the  editor  of  a  great  news- 
paper, the  head  of  a  large  school,  the  owner  of  great  fac- 
tories, the  leader  of  an  army,  and  the  navigator  of  a  ship, 


336    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

work  harder,  if  they  are  successful,  than  the  clerks,  the  type- 
setters, the  assistants,  the  soldiers  and  the  sailors  they  employ. 

Those  who  are  interested  in  the  uplifting  of  the  blacks, 
believe  that,  next  to  freedom  and  religion,  the  greatest  boon 
that  the  more  favoured  can  bestow  upon  the  less  favoured  is 
to  give  them  opportunities  for  becoming  skilled  "  workmen." 
It  may  strike  some  of  you  with  surprise  when  I  say  that 
work  is  one  of  the  greatest  privileges  enjoyed  by  mankind. 
For  one,  I  give  thanks  every  day  that  I  have  the  capacity, 
the  opportunity  and  the  taste  for  work,  and  I  wish  that  every 
man  and  woman  in  the  land  could  have  the  same  satisfaction 
that  I  enjoy  in  the  performance  of  daily  tasks. 

May  I  urge  upon  you,  my  hearers,  a  like  recognition  of 
the  pleasure  of  work — not  mere  animal  exertion,  although 
that  may  have  its  pleasures,  but  the  combination  of  intelli- 
gence with  labour.  As  President  Hayes  said :  "  Add  to 
labour  intelligence  and  to  scholarship  handicraft."  Or,  as 
Booker  T.  Washington  said  in  his  Fifteenth  Report: 
"  Right  here  comes  the  value  of  industrial  education  com- 
bined with  first-class  literary  training;  it  has  a  modifying, 
sobering  influence,  resulting  in  teaching  the  coloured  youth 
that  the  road  to  the  highest  permanent  success  and  develop- 
ment is  by  slow  gradations,  and  nature  permits  of  no  reversal 
of  the  process." 

It  is  idle  to  suppose  that  the  evils  of  poverty,  of  ignorance, 
or  of  misfortune  can  be  removed  by  simple  acts  of  legislation. 
Good  government  can  do  much  to  protect  the  society  over 
which  it  rules;  but  it  can  never  affect  the  operation  of  the 
natural  law  that  work  brings  prosperity  and  sloth  brings 
misery.  We  all  do  well  to  remember  what  President  Cleve- 
land said  at  Princeton:  "When  the  attempt  is  made  to 
delude  the  people  into  the  belief  that  their  suffrage  can  change 
the  operation  of  natural  laws,  I  would  have  our  universities 
and  colleges  proclaim  that  those  laws  are  inexorable  and  far 
removed  from  political  control." 


A   STUDY   IN   BLACK  AND  WHITE        337 

My  appeal,  then,  to  the  pupils  of  Hampton  is  this:  wher- 
ever your  lot  may  be  cast,  in  the  city  or  in  the  town,  in 
the  schoolroom  or  the  shop,  on  the  farm  or  on  the  railroad, 
be  exemplars  of  skilled  labour,  and  never  listen  to  those  who 
would  lead  you  to  think  that  you  can  rise  by  any  other 
process  than  the  exercise  of  your  own  free  will  and  the 
exertion  of  your  own  intelligence.  The  same  laws  govern 
the  whites  and  the  blacks;  human  nature  is  the  same  every- 
where, and  the  sooner  everybody  discovers  that  the  con- 
ditions of  success  in  life  are  dependent  upon  toil,  intellectual 
or  physical,  or  both  combined,  the  better  it  will  be  for  the 
entire  community. 

Here  are  the  words  of  a  distinguished  economist  of  Eng- 
land, addressed  to  his  own  countrymen,  and  all  the  more 
impressive  to  us  because  the  lesson  was  not  called  out  by  any 
desire  to  deal  with  questions  which  divide  and  concern  us : 

"  The  growth  of  society  has  been  distorted  by  partial  and 
injurious  laws,  and  the  distortion  will  not  be  removed  by  the 
removal  of  the  causes  which  induced  it.  You  cannot  as  the 
adventurer  in  the  Greek  comedy  does,  take  the  nation,  and, 
by  some  magic  bath,  restore  it  from  decrepitude,  disease,  vice, 
dirt,  drunkenness,  and  ignorance,  to  manliness,  health,  virtue, 
self-respect,  sobriety,  knowledge,  forethought,  and  wisdom,  at 
a  stroke.  It  will  need  long  years  of  patient  and  disappoint- 
ing labour  before  the  marks  imprinted  by  centuries  of  misrule 
and  wrong-doing  are  effaced.  And  furthermore,  the  re- 
newal, if  it  is  to  come,  cannot  be  imposed  from  without.  It 
must  be  developed  from  within.  Beyond  the  removal  of 
positive  mischief,  which  it  has  in  past  times  created,  the  legis- 
lature can  do  little  more  than  give  every  freedom  it  can  for 
innocent  energy,  and  check  all  the  mischief,  as  far  as  is  pos- 
sible, which  comes  from  the  strong  domineering  over  the 
weak.  If  it  does  too  much,  it  enfeebles  enterprise  and  dis- 
courages practical  wisdom.  If  it  neglects  to  adequately  pro- 
tect the  weak,  and  thereby  gives  license  to  selfishness  and 


338    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A  UNIVERSITY 

fraud,  it  permits  a  trouble  for  which  it  has  assuredly  to 
find  a  remedy." 

In  concluding  these  remarks,  let  me  express  a  belief  that 
the  distinction  between  the  two  races  is  as  permanent  as  the 
distinction  between  the  colours  white  and  black ;  that  this  dis- 
tinction is  natural  and  cannot  be  set  aside  by  human  action; 
that  the  lessons  of  history  make  it  clear  that  differences  of 
race  are  ineffaceable,  by  legislation  or  volition.  They  are 
doubtless  implanted  in  us  for  some  purpose  which  our  limited 
intelligence  is  unable  to  descry.  It  is  of  no  consequence 
whether  we  "  like  to  think  so  "  or  not.  The  stars  move  in 
their  orbits  without  regard  to  mortal  wishes.  Whites  or 
Blacks,  it  is  our  duty  to  recognise  what  is  true ;  to  make  each 
race  as  good  as  it  can  be  made ;  to  discover  and  develop  such 
qualities  as  tend  to  its  improvement ;  to  eradicate  those  which 
are  degrading;  to  help  the  people  that  are  downcast,  by  giv- 
ing them  the  uplifting  influences  of  freedom,  religion  and 
education;  and  especially  to  teach  them  the  uses  of  skilled 
labour;  and  then — it  is  our  duty  to  leave  the  outcome  to 
Providence — never  forgetting  and  never  hiding  the  fact  and 
never  fearing  to  say,  that  deeper  than  all  distinctions  of  race, 
is  the  basis  of  human  nature;  lower  down  than  all  the 
idiosyncracies  by  which  human  nature  is  differentiated  we 
find  the  Brotherhood  of  man  and  the  Fatherhood  of  God. 

In  a  Northern  University,  looking  westward  over  Cayuga 
Lake,  stands  a  granite  bench,  the  gift  of  Goldwin  Smith,  on 
which  he  has  engraved  the  words,  "Above  all  nations  is 
Humanity."  Here,  facing  southward,  on  the  portal  of  one 
of  these  halls  I  would  inscribe,  "  Beneath  all  race  distinctions 
is  the  Brotherhood  of  man ;  above  all  men  is  the  Fatherhood 
of  God." 


CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM 


Among  various  addresses  which  I  have  delivered 
with  respect  to  the  promotion  of  Civil  Service  Reform, 
I  have  selected  that  which  was  given  as  President  of 
the  Civil  Service  Reform  League,  at  Washington, 
in  1904. 


XX 

CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM 

IT  is  among  the  privileges  of  the  veterans  (an  evergrowing 
body  to  which,  if  you  live  long  enough,  you  will  all  belong), 
to  indulge  in  reminiscences.  Younger  men  must  be  active  in 
the  field ;  older  men  may  study  the  principles  of  stategy  and 
try  to  indicate  the  essentials  of  success.  As  civil  service  re- 
formers, young  and  old,  perhaps  both  old  and  young,  we 
belong  to  an  army  so  vast  and  complex,  having  such  a 
variety  of  weapons,  sometimes  defensive  and  oftener  offen- 
sive (undoubtedly  offensive,  if  not  intentionally  so),  that  no 
one  in  the  fighting  ranks  can  estimate  the  operations  of  each 
corps. 

.  It  is  not  amiss,  therefore,  for  those  who  are  out  of  active 
service,  to  place  themselves  in  the  rear,  gather  in  the  reports, 
sum  up  the  gains  or  the  losses,  and  consider  the  results  al- 
ready obtained,  for  the  use  of  more  serviceable  combatants. 

Leaving,  then,  to  other  speakers  the  specific  topics  which 
require  immediate  and  deliberate  discussion,  I  shall  present 
some  desultory  reflections  of  an  observer  upon  the  progress 
of  civil  government,  and  upon  efforts  made  by  reformers  of 
other  days  to  promote  the  welfare  and  progress  of  society. 
These  reflections  must  be  brief  and  of  course  inadequate, — 
merely  suggestive,  it  is  true, — but  possibly  they  may  germ- 
inate, and  lead,  in  the  near  hereafter,  to  ampler  and  abler 
presentations  of  the  theme.  But  for  the  sake  of  those  who 
have  not  been  present  at  former  meetings  of  the  League,  I 
must  begin  with  some  facts  of  recent  history. 

Geographers  of  the  school  of  Ritter  and  Guyot  have  taught 
us  that  to  understand  the  earth  as  a  whole  we  must  know 


342    THE   LAUNCING   OF  A   UNIVERSITY 

something  of  the  pleasant  places  where  our  lines  have  fallen  ; 
and  a  current  witticism,  attributed  to  a  Cantabrigian,  de- 
clares that  "to  be  truly  cosmopolitan,  a  man  must  know 
something  of  his  own  country."  Acting  in  accordance  with 
this  principle,  before  we  look  beyond,  let  us  consider  the 
recent  history  and  the  actual  condition  of  civil  service  re- 
form in  this  country,  with  a  hope  that  although  a  brief  epit- 
ome will  sound  trite  to  the  silver  greys  in  this  assembly, 
it  may  be  fresh  to  the  new  recruits.  At  any  rate  here 
it  is. 

The  evils  of  the  spoils  system,  unknown  in  the  earlier 
days  of  this  Republic,  multiplied  with  the  fecundity  of  bac- 
teria, from  the  days  of  Andrew  Jackson  to  those  of  recon- 
struction under  Andrew  Johnson.  The  Bacillus  Tennessee- 
ensis  did  much  harm  to  the  body  politic.  Consequently  in 
1868  the  need  of  reform  became  so  apparent  that  it  was 
brought  into  practical  politics  by  the  memorable  activity  of  a 
Representative  of  Rhode  Island,  Hon.  Thomas  L.  Jenckes. 
Several  years  later,  Dorman  B.  Eaton  produced  his  book  upon 
English  "  abuses  and  reforms,"  a  book  which  remains  to  this 
day  a  vade-mecum  of  the  veterans,  and  may  be  commended, 
as  a  pilot's  own  book,  to  all  young  navigators  in  the  sea  of 
politics.  In  1883,  the  Pendleton  bill,  establishing  the 
National  Civil  Service  Commission,  became  a  law  by  the  sig- 
nature of  President  Arthur.  The  way  had  been  prepared 
for  this  enactment  by  the  administration  of  President  Hayes, 
in  whose  cabinet  sat  an  untiring  advocate  of  reform,  our  for- 
mer President,  our  constant  support,  our  wise  counsellor, 
Hon.  Carl  Schurz.  One  of  these  days  the  world  will  know 
(what  we  can  now  surmise),  how  much  was  due  to  his 
patient  wisdom  as  a  Secretary  and  a  Senator. 

Since  the  National  Civil  Service  Commission  was  or- 
ganised under  Dorman  B.  Eaton,  we  have  passed  the  twenty- 
first  mile  stone.  This  is  an  era  from  which  to  date.  At  our 
last  annual  meeting  a  paper  from  Mr.  Foulke,  supplemented 


CIVIL   SERVICE   REFORM  343 

by  one  from  Commissioner  Greene,  reviewed  the  progress  of 
this  period,  so  that  all  that  is  now  essential  is  to  give  the  latest 
summary  prepared  for  us  in  the  office  of  the  Commissioners. 
By  the  kindness  of  Commissioner  Greene,  I  present  these 
figures,  not  yet  published,  which  will  appear  in  the  twenty- 
first  report  of  the  Commissioners.  It  is  a  remarkable  record, 
worthy  of  careful  attention  and  of  tenacious  remembrance. 
On  June  30,  last,  the  whole  number  of  positions  in  the 
executive  civil  service  was  nearly  300,000,  of  which  more 
than  one-half  were  competitive.  The  exact  enumeration  is 
as  follows:  the  whole  number  of  positions  in  the  executive 
civil  service  was  290,858,  of  which  154,093  were  compet- 
itive, 80,798  were  excepted,  49,254  unclassified,  and  6,203 
Presidential. 

During  the  past  year  133,069  persons  were  examined, 
103,718  passed  and  50,830  were  appointed.  As  compared 
with  the  previous  year,  it  is  an  increase  of  2O,on  in  the 
number  examined,  15,582  in  the  number  that  passed  and 
10,407  in  the  number  appointed.  From  the  same  com- 
munication I  gather  these  additional  particulars.  There  has 
been  a  reduction  of  1 1  per  cent,  in  the  number  of  temporary 
appointments  without  examination  in  the  service  at  Washing- 
ton, as  compared  with  the  appointments  of  those  standing 
highest  upon  examination.  There  has  probably  also  been  a 
reduction  of  about  3  per  cent,  in  the  number  of  temporary 
appointments  outside  of  Washington. 

On  November  15,  1904,  the  President  adopted  improved 
labour  regulations  for  the  service  at  Washington.  An  in- 
creasing observance  has  been  shown  of  the  prohibition  of 
the  assignment  of  unclassified  labourers  to  classified  work. 

During  the  year  there  has  been  very  marked  progress 
in  the  observance  not  merely  of  the  letter,  but  of  the  spirit 
of  the  act  and  rules,  and  noticeable  absence  of  complaints  in 
political  activity  and  assessments. 

In  view  of  all  this  expansion  of  the  merit  system  it  has 


344    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

been  a  great  satisfaction  to  read  in  both  political  platforms 
commendation  of  the  principles  of  civil  service  reform. 

Gratifying  beyond  measure  has  been  the  recognition  of 
civil  service  principles,  and  the  introduction  of  the  merit 
system  to  the  Philippines.  From  these  examples  of  good  ad- 
ministration in  our  dependencies,  the  stay-at-home  observers 
in  the  United  States  may  derive  instruction  and  encour- 
agement. 

May  I  not  be  accused  of  undue  partisanship  if  I  remind 
you  that  the  President  of  the  United  States,  just  elected  by  an 
overwhelming  vote,  was  once  a  member  of  the  National  Civil 
Service  Commission.  His  writings  are  on  record,  services 
in  New  York  and  Washington  in  behalf  of  the  cause  are  well 
remembered,  and  his  official  actions,  since  he  entered  upon  his 
exalted  station,  assure  the  League  that  he  is  still  a  most  ef- 
ficient promoter  of  those  measures  of  which  for  so  long  a 
time  he  has  been  a  distinguished  and  efficient  advocate.  I 
have  no  authority  to  speak  for  him,  but  I  am  confident  that 
he  will  be  satisfied  (as  we  may  be  also),  if  he  is  judged  by 
what  he  does  as  well  as  by  what  he  says. 

Before  I  pass  on  from  this  review,  let  us  bring  to  mind  the 
fact  that  the  progress  of  the  last  ten  years  is  largely  due  to 
that  admirable  man,  Hon.  John  R.  Proctor,  Civil  Service 
Commissioner  under  the  administrations  of  Cleveland,  Mc- 
Kinley  and  Roosevelt.  He  was  for  many  years  a  geologist, 
and  by  the  truth-seeking  methods  developed  in  his  career  as 
a  scientific  man,  he  became  a  master  of  all  known  facts  re- 
specting the  condition  of  our  civil  service,  and  a  recognised 
authority  with  respect  to  past  experience  and  future  require- 
ments. Those  who  heard  his  voice  at  the  last  meeting  of  the 
League  in  Baltimore,  alas,  so  soon  followed  by  his  sudden 
death,  have  a  vivid  memory  of  his  strong  personality,  his 
calm  and  judicial  speech  and  his  abiding  faith  in  the  merit 
system.  All  his  colleagues  bear  testimony  to  his  official 
fidelity,  his  skilful  persuasiveness,  his  appreciation  of  ob- 


CIVIL   SERVICE    REFORM  345 

stacles  and  opportunities,  and  his  devotion  to  the  country's 
good.  He  was  truly  a  statesman.  What  better  can  we  say 
of  him  than  to  apply  to  him  the  familiar  words  of  Words- 
worth, portraying  the  Happy  Warrior?  Among  those  mem- 
bers of  the  Commission  who  have  "  gone  over  to  the  ma- 
jority," three  will  always  have  especial  honour, — George 
William  Curtis,  Dorman  B.  Eaton  and  John  R.  Proctor. 

From  modern  instances  let  us  now  recur  to  some  early 
reformers,  and  discover,  if  we  can,  the  lessons  suggested  by 
their  examples  or  derived  from  their  speeches.  A  great 
deal  may  be  learned  from  historical  research.  For  example, 
much  wisdom  may  be  found  in  the  utterances  of  the  ancient 
prophets  of  Israel,  but  I  will  not  quote  that  which  ought  to 
be  familiar. 

The  first  aphorism  that  I  bring  forward  is  that  the  ad- 
vocate of  righteousness  in  politics  must  never  expect  im- 
mediate approbation.  Let  him  rather  look  for  obloquy  and 
think  himself  fortunate  if  he  does  not  receive  of  it  good 
measure,  pressed  down  and  running  over.  For  his  instruc- 
tion let  him  read  Plutarch's  story  of  one  whom  I  venture  to 
call  one  of  the  earliest  civil  service  reformers,  Aristides  the 
Just,  ostracised  from  Athens  twenty-four  hundred  years 
ago.  Every  schoolboy  used  to  know  why.  A  citizen,  when 
asked  why  he  wished  the  name  of  Aristides  to  be  written  on 
the  voter's  sherd,  replied,  "  Because  I  am  tired  of  hearing 
him  everywhere  called  the  Just."  1  But  Aristides,  though 
his  fame  may  have  bored  his  contemporaries,  was  recalled 
three  years  after  his  exile  and  placed  in  stations  of  service  and 
honour. 

Another  example  is  that  of  Savonarola,  who  merited  the 
name  of  "the  Saviour  of  Florence"  (given  to  him  by  a 
contemporary  and  repeated  by  his  most  recent  biographer) 
may  receive  the  honour,  as  saints  are  sometimes  canonised 

1  Aristidei,  at  the  request  of  an  illiterate  voter,  voted  against 
hims«lf. 


346    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

long  after  their  death,  of  being  designated  as  one  of  the 
most  famous  promoters  in  the  time  of  the  Italian  republics, 
of  civil  and  municipal  reform.  He  it  was  who  overthrew 
"  the  rule  of  the  ring  "  in  Florence  and  incited  the  people  to 
vindicate  their  rights.  Never  in  modern  times,  not  even 
when  Tilden  and  his  co-workers  overthrew  the  boss  of  New 
York,  have  there  been  such  civic  upheavals  in  behalf  of  good 
government.  In  the  elaborate  and  scholarly  memoir  of  this 
renowned  reformer,  by  an  author  of  the  highest  authority, 
Professor  Villari,  there  are  many  instructive  passages  in  re- 
spect to  the  evils  then  endured  by  the  municipality  and  the 
struggles  which  were  made  to  overcome  these  civic  iniquities. 
I  will  read  two  brief  passages  which  show  the  influence  of 
one  man  devoted,  regardless  of  personal  consequences,  to 
municipal  reform.  These  are  the  words  of  Villari,  quite  sug- 
gestive to  reformers  of  the  twentieth  century: 

"  Savonarola  did  not  invent  any  of  the  institutions  he 
persuaded  Florence  to  adopt,  and  this  really  constituted  his 
chief  merit.  Institutions  are  neither  created  nor  conceived; 
they  come  into  existence  as  the  result  of  the  times  and  con- 
ditions of  the  people.  He  rediscovered  them,  as  it  were; 
and  recognising  their  value,  succeeded  in  persuading  the 
nation  to  adopt  them;  and  what  higher  meed  of  praise  can 
be  given  to  his  political  sagacity  ?  We  repeat  that  Savonarola 
was  more  clear  sighted  than  the  other  man,  simply  because 
his  eyes  were  sharpened  by  natural  good  sense  and  earnest 
benevolence,  and  his  mind  was  unperplexed  by  theories,  his 
heart  undisturbed  by  party  spirit.  He  therefore  deserves  to 
be  ranked  among  the  greatest  founders  of  republican  states." 

"  Again,"  says  Villari,  "  .  .  .  we  are  almost  tempted 
to  believe  that  a  miracle  has  been  wrought  in  Florence,  when 
a  Friar,  totally  unversed  in  worldly  matters,  could  succeed 
in  confounding  the  wise,  redeeming  his  country,  and  es- 
tablishing a  new  Republic.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  this 
seemed  to  confirm  the  old  experience,  that  in  great  social 


CIVIL   SERVICE    REFORM  347 

emergencies  one  force  alone  Is  powerful  to  save,  the  pure 
and  unselfish  moral  force  of  really  great  men,  namely:  fervid 
earnestness  for  truth,  firm  and  steadfast  aspirations  after 
goodness.  In  Savonarola  all  these  elements  were  combined 
and  formed,  indeed,  this  very  essence  of  his  noble  character. 
In  moments  of  trial  what  learning  could  compare  with 
wisdom  such  as  this?  what  prudence  boast  the  victories  and 
conquests  such  devotion  could  achieve  ?  " 

For  your  encouragement,  fellow  reformers,  let  me  add 
that  this  highly  gifted  man  endured  the  most  obnoxious 
treatment  and  was  burned  at  the  stake,  yet  his  statue  in 
bronze  now  stands  in  Florence  on  the  site  of  his  scaffold,  and 
his  name  is  honoured  throughout  Europe  as  one  of  the  promo- 
ters of  human  liberty. 

Long  before  Savonarola,  there  lived  another  illustrious 
Italian,  Dante  Alighieri,  so  famous  in  the  world  of  letters 
that  his  fame  as  a  statesman  is  sometimes  overlooked.  Dante 
was  a  civil  service  reformer  who  devoted  his  early  years 
to  the  public  service.  By  joining  one  of  the  guilds,  an  act 
then  prerequisite  to  the  holding  of  a  public  office,  he  became, 
a  little  later,  a  commissioner  of  public  works  and  superin- 
tended the  widening  and  improvement  of  certain  streets  in 
Florence.  I  can  believe  that  Mr.  Lowell  or  Mr.  Gilder 
would  have  gladly  rendered  kindred  services  in  Boston  or 
New  York,  if  there  had  been  any  possibility  of  their  selection, 
while  I  admit  that,  as  a  general  rule,  the  measures  of  well- 
trained  engineers  are  more  desirable  than  the  metres  of  the 
most  accomplished  versifiers. 

The  second  aphorism  is  this,  that  lofty  ideals  must  be 
upheld.  Those  who  are  called  upon  to  frame  laws  or  pass 
them  must  study,  in  the  light  of  experience,  the  art  of  gov- 
ernment as  did  the  founders  of  this  republic  who,  with 
limited  apparatus,  without  such  libraries  as  we  possess,  fer- 
reted out  the  records  of  ancient  states.  "  The  Spirit  of  the 
Laws  "  by  Montesquieu  was  a  favourite  book  with  them,  and 


348    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

the  student  of  politics  might  do  worse  than  to  recur  to  his 
pages  even  now,  though  Thirlwall  and  Grote,  and  Momm- 
sen  and  Sismondi  stand  on  the  library  shelf  and  the 
"  Federalist "  is  in  the  student's  hands.  But  historians  are 
not  the  only  teachers.  The  publicists,  Bluntschli,  Lieber, 
Gladstone,  Tocqueville  and  Bryce  have  their  lessons  for  us. 
Emphatically  let  me  say  that  the  idealist  must  be  consulted, — 
those  seers  whose  lofty  conceptions  of  what  mankind  should 
strive  after,  began  with  the  earliest  of  Grecians  and  were  con- 
tinued by  Plato  and  Aristotle  and  a  long  line  of  bright  men, 
down  to  the  authors  of  the  "  Utopia,"  "  Oceana,"  "  Tele- 
maque  "  and  the  "  Persian  Letters."  The  practical  politician 
is  prone  to  think  that  he  has  no  use  for  the  idealist,  but 
if  he  will  turn  to  the  pages  of  Sir  George  Cornewall  Lewis, 
he  will  find  in  a  compact  form  a  defence  of  idealism  in  politics 
which  has  its  parallel  in  Sylvester's  assertion  of  the  value  of 
imagination  in  science,  especially  in  mathematical  science. 
If  we  consider  all  the  great  items  of  political  progress,  says 
this  far-sighted  statesman,  such  as  the  introduction  of  monog- 
amy, of  the  abolition  of  slavery,  of  the  liberty  of  the  press, 
of  religious  toleration,  of  permanent  embassies,  of  a  standing 
army,  of  a  government  post  office  or  of  a  civil  police,  we  shall 
find  that  every  one  of  these  measures  must,  when  it  was  newly 
introduced,  have  been  conceived  of  by  its  author  as  an  ideal 
scheme. 

The  third  aphorism  is  this.  While  it  is  important  to  be 
aggressive,  it  is  imperative  to  be  patient.  The  public  at  large 
are  slow  to  follow  the  leadership  of  the  most  wise  and  most 
thoughtful  members  of  the  community.  No  statistics  enable 
us  to  speak  with  mathematical  precision,  but  it  is  safe  to  esti- 
mate that  it  takes  a  period  of  from  thirty  to  fifty  years,  let  us 
say  the  time  of  one  generation,  to  secure  the  popular  ap- 
proval of  matters  of  minor  importance,  while  to  establish 
greater  principles  a  longer  period  is  usually  involved.  It  is 
encouraging  to  know  that  good  ideas  have  extraordinary 


CIVIL    SERVICE    REFORM  349 

vitality ;  they  may  slumber  for  decades  or  centuries,  but  once 
embodied  in  laws  and  institutions  they  are,  like  the  bread 
cast  upon  the  waters,  found  after  many  days.  Perseverance 
in  a  good  cause  is  just  as  important  as  those  alluring  quali- 
ties, combativeness  and  suggestiveness. 

Anyone  who  has  followed  the  discussions  of  this  League 
in  this  and  former  years,  must  be  aware  that  the  members 
do  not  consider  that  their  task  is  done.  Encouraged  by 
the  progress  that  has  been  made,  enlightened  by  the  efforts 
which  have  led  to  victory,  they  look  for  early  and  great  im- 
provements in  many  directions,  for  example,  in  the  consular 
system  and  in  the  subordinate  posts  of  the  diplomatic  service. 
They  are  striving  for  improvement  in  municipal  government. 
They  seek  to  persuade  the  public  that  no  appointment  should 
be  made  in  educational  or  philanthropic  establishments  except 
on  the  grounds  of  fitness,  training  and  experience.  The  task 
of  reformers  will  never  be  done,  so  long  as  human  nature 
is  what  it  is, — but  society  will  ever  be  advancing  toward  the 
perfection  which  seems  beyond  its  reach. 

Among  the  many  eminent  foreigners  who  have  been  among 
us  during  the  St.  Louis  Exposition  and  during  the  Presi- 
dential campaign,  there  are  three  whose  reflections  are  awaited 
eagerly.  I  refer  to  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  a  student 
of  ecclesiastical  and  religious  conditions,  to  the  biographer 
of  Gladstone  and  to  the  author  of  "  The  American  Common- 
wealth," observers  of  political  and  social  affairs.  One  of 
them,  Mr.  Morley,  in  his  speech  at  Pittsburg,  has  given  us  an 
indication  of  what  we  may  expect  from  him.  After  speaking 
of  "  the  question  of  questions,"  whether  moral  forces  keep 
pace  with  material  forces  in  the  world  of  which  this  con- 
tinent, conspicuous  before  all  others,  bears  such  astounding 
evidence,  he  says  there  is  many  a  sign  of  progress  beyond  mis- 
take. "  The  practice  of  associated  action,  one  of  the  many 
keys  of  progress,  is  a  new  force  in  a  hundred  fields,  and  with 
immeasurable  diversity  of  forms.  There  is  less  acquiescence 


350    THE   LAUNCHING   OF  A   UNIVERSITY 

in  triumphant  wrong.  Toleration  in  religion  has  been  called 
the  best  fruit  of  the  last  four  centuries,  and  in  spite  of  the 
few  bigoted  survivals,  even  in  our  United  Kingdom,  and 
some  savage  outbreaks  of  hatred,  half  religious,  half  racial, 
on  the  Continent  of  Europe,  this  glorious  gain  of  time  may 
now  be  taken  as  secured.  Perhaps  of  all  the  contributions  of 
America  to  human  civilisation  this  is  the  greatest.  The 
reign  of  force  is  not  yet  over,  and  at  intervals  it  has  its 
triumphant  hours,  but  reason,  justice,  humanity  fight  with 
success  their  long  and  steady  battle  for  a  wider  sway." 

Surely,  with  these  encouraging  reflections,  we  may  press 
forward  in  the  work  upon  which  we  are  engaged. 


SPECIAL  TRAINING  FOR  SPECIAL 
WORK  IN  PHILANTHROPY 


SPECIAL  TRAINING  FOR  SPECIAL  WORK 

In  the  winter  of  1904,  John  S.  Kennedy,  Esq.,  of 
New  York,  gave  a  large  fund  to  the  Charity  Organ- 
isation Society  of  New  York  in  order  to  promote  and 
develop  the  idea  of  instruction  in  Philanthropy.  At 
the  Annual  Meeting  of  that  Society,  held  on  January 
X7>  I9°5>  tne  following  address  was  delivered. 


XXI 

SPECIAL  TRAINING  FOR  PHILANTHROPIC  WORK 

THE  occasion  which  has  brought  us  together  is  fine,  fine 
among  all  the  religious  and  philanthropic  reunions  of  this 
metropolis,  fine  like  gold  among  the  useful  and  precious 
metals.  Added  to  the  ordinary  themes  of  such  an  anniver- 
sary, we  have  to-day  the  freshness  of  a  new  problem,  namely, 
the  potentialities  of  systematic  training  in  the  conduct  of 
charities,  or  as  the  cards  of  invitation  have  expressed  it, 
"  special  training  for  social  work."  John  Ruskin  once  said 
in  his  poetical  prose,  "  Charity  is  wound  with  white  roses 
which  burst  as  they  open  into  flames  of  fire,"  and  I  choose  to 
suppose  that  he  meant,  in  ordinary  parlance,  "  Simple  deeds 
of  charity  often  develop  with  unexpected  brilliancy."  An  un- 
expected and  munificent  act  now  claims  our  attention,  one 
which  has  burst  like  "  a  flame  of  fire  "  upon  the  unobtrusive 
work  of  friendly  visitors  among  the  poor,  not  only  in  Man- 
hattan, but  in  other  places  where  the  seeds  of  systematic 
charity  are  planted.  A  large-minded  and  large-hearted  man, 
John  S.  Kennedy,  who  provided  not  long  ago  a  building  for 
four  co-operative  charities,  has  given  a  fund  to  maintain  the 
agencies  by  which  workers  in  various  departments  of  humani- 
tarian effort  may  be  prepared  for  their  duties,  by  guidance,  in- 
struction, and  inspiration.  In  distant  places  as  well  as  in 
this  city  his  bounty  has  been  recognised  as  wise,  timely  and 
far-sighted,  freighted  with  great  possibilities,  laden  with 
great  expectations.  It  has  been  received  with  the  heartiest 
gratitude. 

The  circumstances  of  this  gift  are  well   known.     For 
several  years  a  summer  school  in  charitable  work  has  been 

353 


354    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

maintained  in  this  city  under  the  skilful  superintendence  of 
Dr.  Philip  W.  Ayres.  From  this  nucleus  the  New  York 
School  of  Philanthropy  is  now  developed,  thanks  in  a  great 
degree  to  Mr.  Kennedy,  and  to  the  president  of  this  society, 
Robert  W.  de  Forest.  A  large  staff  of  instructors  is  en- 
listed, under  whom  a  goodly  company  of  students  are  en- 
rolled for  the  scholastic  year,  and  many  more  are  coming  in 
the  summer.  Get  the  "  Hand  Book  of  the  School  of  Philan- 
thropy "  and  be  surprised,  as  I  have  been,  by  the  variety  of 
courses  already  offered,  their  adaptation  to  the  present  wants 
of  the  country,  and  the  number  of  experts  engaged  as  leaders 
and  guides,  under  the  direction  of  Dr.  Devine,  Mr.  Johnson 
and  Mrs.  Spencer. 

Other  antecedents  should  be  brought  to  mind,  imprimis  the 
excellent  and  suggestive  initiative  of  Frank  B.  Sanborn  at 
Cornell  University,  in  the  administration  of  President  White. 
The  informal  classes  in  the  Johns  Hopkins  University, 
fathered  by  Herbert  B.  Adams,  and  quickened  by  the  en- 
thusiasm of  that  rarely  gifted  man,  the  late  John  Glenn, 
should  not  be  forgotten,  for  they  had  not  a  little  influence 
upon  such  remarkably  influential  characters  as  Amos  G. 
Warner,  John  H.  Finlay,  Albert  Shaw,  E.  R.  L.  Gould, 
Jeffrey  R.  Brackett,  John  M.  Glenn,  P.  W.  Ayres,  Miss 
Richmond  and  Mrs.  Glenn.  The  classes  in  Hartford,  Con- 
necticut, and  the  highly  organised  work  in  the  University  of 
Chicago  under  Professor  Henderson  are  memorable.  Among 
the  most  important  of  all  such  agencies  is  the  Training  School 
for  Social  Workers  under  the  auspices  of  Harvard  University 
and  Simmons  College.  To  Boston,  the  shining  focus  of 
charity  and  knowledge,  Dr.  Brackett,  one  of  the  wisest  of 
American  experts  in  the  domain  of  charitable  relief,  has  been 
called  away  from  three  important  stations  which  he  held  in 
Baltimore,  and  is  now  inaugurating  organised  instruction 
in  the  various  branches  of  charitable  effort.  Now  New 
York  comes  to  the  front,  larger,  richer,  more  venturesome 


PHILANTHROPIC   WORK  355 

than  any  other  city.  The  building  was  here,  the  leaders, 
the  scholars,  the  ideas,  the  organisation.  "  Wanting  was 
what  ?  "  Endowment !  So  endowment  enters  the  field,  bear- 
ing a  letter  which  is  a  sort  of  charter,  a  bill,  not  of  rights,  but 
of  duties,  a  summary  of  principles.  If  you  have  not  read  it, 
get  a  copy  and  be  instructed  by  Mr.  Kennedy's  conception  of 
the  School  of  Philanthropy.  Observe  three  points  in  his 
letter: 

1.  His  gift  is  not  an  impulse,  nor  an  answer  to  an  appeal, 
but  is  the  fruit  of  scrutiny — scrutiny  of  the  work  performed 
in  New  York  during  the  last  seven  years. 

2.  Remark  the  emphasis  laid  by  this  benefactor  upon  the 
spirit  of  co-operation  with  the  educational  and  philanthropic 
institutions  of  this  city,  already  fostered  by  the  incorporation 
of  the  United  Charities. 

3.  Read  and  remember  this  dictum.     Mr.  Kennedy  says: 

There  is  the  same  need  for  knowledge  and  experience  in  relieving 
the  complex  disabilities  of  poverty  that  there  is  in  relieving  mere 
ailments  of  the  body,  and  the  same  process  of  evolution  that  has 
brought  into  our  hospital  service  the  trained  physician  and  the 
trained  nurse,  increasingly  calls  for  the  trained  charity  worker. 

This  one  sentence  comprises  a  volume.  It  might  serve 
as  a  motto,  to  be  repeated  over  and  over  again. 

Two  pithy  sayings  of  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson  have  occurred 
to  me  as  this  gift  has  been  considered.  One  of  them  is  this: 
"  A  new  degree  of  intellectual  power  seems  cheap  at  any 
price,"  and  the  other  is  this :  "  Nothing  great  was  ever 
achieved  without  enthusiasm."  With  enthusiasm,  therefore, 
we  are  to  consider  the  potentiality  of  training  in  the  field  of 
philanthropy,  and  the  attainment  of  a  new  degree  of  in- 
tellectual power. 

One  word  of  caution  to  the  outside  world.  Hands  off! 
Let  not  these  schools  of  philanthropy  be  multiplied  too 
rapidly.  Those  now  established  are  quite  enough  for  im- 


356    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

mediate  wants,  certainly  in  the  Atlantic  States.  Let  them 
be  built  up  before  rival  or  imitative  beginnings  are  made  else- 
where; let  the  fruitage  come  before  cuttings  are  planted. 

If  there  are  any  in  this  assemblage  sceptical  in  respect  to 
the  objects  of  this  foundation,  let  me  ask  them  to  bear  in 
mind  some  general  principles. 

Modern  society  makes  much  use  of  three  factors,  indeed, 
all  progress  depends  upon  them.  These  are  they:  Co- 
operation, investigation  and  education.  Do  you  shun  the 
words  that  end  in  -tion?  Then  take  these:  Union, 
knowledge  and  training — and  consider  what  they  involve. 

Begin  with  Union.  By  a  few  examples  be  reminded  of 
this  idea,  that  combination  is  the  note  of  our  times.  In  the 
political  world  you  may  bring  to  mind  the  opposition  to  dis- 
union in  the  United  States  of  America,  and  in  the  United 
Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland ;  you  may  recall  the 
union  of  Austria  and  Hungary;  the  resurgence  of  new  Italy; 
and  the  restitution  of  the  German  Empire.  Efforts  for  re- 
union among  the  Christian  churches  are  widely  supported. 
See  how  Greater  New  York  has  been  constituted.  Notice 
the  organisations  of  capital  and  labour.  Tell  me,  is  not  as- 
sociation the  watchword  of  the  twentieth  century?  Among 
objects  near  at  hand,  the  fruits  of  seeds  planted  long  ago, 
may  we  not  look  for  the  early  ripening  of  religious  brother- 
hood, united  charities,  and  international  justice?  Webster's 
ringing  phrase  comprehends  it  all,  "  Liberty  and  Union,  one 
and  inseparable,  now  and  forever." 

Next  consider  Knowledge.  I  use  this  word,  and  not 
science  (though  they  mean  pretty  much  the  same),  because 
for  some  reason  science  has  not  been  a  popular  word.  It  has 
suggested  to  the  non-scientific  mind  abstract  mathematics, 
astronomical  tables,  lists  of  fishes,  insects,  birds,  beasts  and 
plants,  the  artificial  nomenclature  of  minerals  and  rocks  and 
the  still  more  unpronounceable  terminology  of  modern 
chemistry.  Applied  to  charity,  science  has  seemed  abstract, 


PHILANTHROPIC   WORK  357 

impractical,  cold,  and  distant,  far  removed  from  sentiment 
and  affection,  and  even  from  humanity  and  good  will.  But 
when  science  is  seen  to  be  the  summary  of  man's  observation 
and  experience  no  thoughtful  person  can  question  its  value. 
"  What  has  been  found  out?  "  or  "  What  do  we  know?  "  or 
"  What  are  the  facts  ?  "  are  the  queries  with  which  researches 
should  begin.  Knowledge  is  the  starting  point  of  all  good 
actions.  Accurate  information  was  sought  by  the  ancient 
Babylonians  and  the  golden  rule  was  recognised  in  remote 
antiquity,  but  the  notion  that  Science  and  Philanthropy 
could  be  wedded  and  made  co-operative  is  a  modern  thought. 
Even  now,  there  are  many  charitable  and  intelligent  persons 
who  do  not  comprehend  what  this  union  signifies.  They 
prefer  to  be  governed  by  impulse  rather  than  by  prin- 
ciples; sentiment,  not  wisdom.  Yet  the  number  is  con- 
stantly increasing  throughout  all  civilised  lands  of  those 
who  would  discover,  if  possible,  wise  methods  of  preven- 
tion and  remedy.  These  are  they  who  would  infuse 
sympathy  with  knowledge;  who  would  ascertain  facts  as 
the  basis  for  appropriate  action.  These  are  they  who  rec- 
ognise such  a  field  of  inquiry  as  social  pathology,  the  ascer- 
tainment of  the  nature  and  causes  of  social  disorders  and 
decay,  so  that  relief  appropriate  to  individual  cases  may  be 
discovered  and  applied.  What  sort  of.  a  doctor  would  he 
be  who  trusted  to  sentiment  and  not  to  knowledge  and 
skill  ?  He  would  be  a  hoodoo. 

Remedies  have  already  been  discovered  for  many  evils; 
modes  of  prevention  have  been  ascertained ;  the  means  of  ap- 
plying this  knowledge  to  individuals,  and  to  communities, 
have  been  sought  out,  and  there  is  abundant  inquiry  in  prog- 
ress as  to  the  treatment  of  the  social  cancers  and  in- 
numerable ills  which  prey  upon  humanity.  Legislation  has 
come  to  the  service  of  philanthropy.  In  fact,  philanthropy 
appears  to  be  going  through  the  experiences  of  other  sciences. 
Recount  the  advance  of  medicine — kind  impulses,  obvious  re- 


358    THE  LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

lief,  traditional  experience,  accurate  records,  comparison  of 
treatment,  accepted  principles,  systematic  investigation,  the 
abolition  of  certain  diseases,  the  control  of  others,  the  lessen- 
ing of  minor  ailments,  the  prolongation  of  life,  and  often, 
Euthanasia. 

Likewise  charity  begins  with  pity  and  sympathy,  leads  on 
to  "  oil  and  wine,"  proceeds  to  discover  the  causes  of  dis- 
tress, investigates  cases,  applies  permanent  relief,  and,  by 
judicious  help,  counsel  and  restrictions,  restores  the  individ- 
ual to  health,  moral  as  well  as  physical,  while  it  enables  so- 
ciety to  frame  such  laws  and  apply  such  methods  as  will  re- 
duce, if  not  abolish,  many  evil  tendencies  and  correct  many 
evils. 

I  come  in  the  third  place  to  the  subject  of  Training. 
Modern  society  is  so  complex  that  in  every  pursuit  some  de- 
gree of  preparation  is  requisite,  and  this  preparation  must  not 
only  be  general,  based  upon  a  broad  acquaintance  with  the 
subject  in  hand;  it  must  be  adapted,  as  near  as  may  be,  to 
particular  callings.  Recurring  again  to  the  medical  parallel 
of  our  charter,  remember  that  in  colonial  days,  the  same 
man  had  the  cure  of  souls  and  the  cure  of  bodies,  like  the 
famous  Jared  Eliot  of  Connecticut.  By  and  by,  preaching 
and  practice  were  separated.  Then  the  good  physician  was 
an  all-around  man,  willing  to  amputate  a  leg  or  dispense  the 
medicament  of  Paracelsus,  elixir  proprietatis.  Specialisation 
at  length  separated  surgery  from  medicine.  Presently  all 
branches  of  surgery  were  too  much  for  one  man,  and  the  ocu- 
list, the  aurist,  the  gynecologist,  received  special  training. 
Medicine  called  for  consultants  as  well  as  practitioners. 
Again,  the  distinction  was  made  between  the  physician  on  the 
one  hand  who  is  devoted  only  to  science,  the  anatomist,  the 
physiologist,  and  the  pathologist,  and  on  the  other  the  phy- 
sician who  is  in  constant  attendance  upon  the  sick.  Nursing 
after  Florence  Nightingale  became  a  most  important  cult. 
Different  kinds  of  nurses  are  now  called  for.  All  this  il- 


PHILANTHROPIC   WORK  359 

lustrates  the  doctrine  that  following  special  aptitudes,  special 
training  for  special  callings  is  the  demand  of  modern  society. 
Only  be  it  remembered  special  training  should  always  be 
based  upon  education  as  broad  and  solid  as  the  circumstances 
of  the  individual  can  secure. 

Apply  these  illustrations  to  philanthropic  work.  Evidently 
there  are  two  classes  of  workers  to  be  trained — those  who 
can  give  all  their  time  to  the  public  good,  and  those  who 
exercise  charity  incidentally,  but  not  exclusively.  Some  of 
those  who  devote  themselves  to  the  dispensation  of  charity 
as  a  career  may  rise  to  stations  of  importance,  may  be  over- 
seers of  the  poor,  secretaries  of  charity  societies,  superin- 
tendents of  refuges  and  asylums,  students  and  writers,  per- 
haps teachers  and  lecturers.  Others  will  be  contented 
with  the  equally  honourable  but  less  conspicuous  work  of 
friendly  visitors  among  the  poor  and  needy,  or  perchance, 
municipal  or  State  advisers  and  trustees  of  beneficent 
institutions. 

A  private  letter  sums  up  the  situation  with  such  felicity 
that  I  will  ask  leave  to  read  it.  After  visiting  certain  classes 
in  the  Boston  school  of  philanthropy,  my  friend  l  writes  thus : 

I  saw  there  a  fine  lot  of  bright  young  men  and  women  eager 
to  learn.  Some  were  looking  to  being  paid  workers,  others  to 
being  volunteers.  I  felt  that  the  greatest  value  of  the  school  was 
in  the  spirit  it  inspired.  Its  object  is  to  teach  people  to  be  good 
citizens,  to  work  for  the  benefit  of  the  community.  The  object 
of  everything  taught  is  the  helping  of  others.  The  students  are 
not  studying  in  order  to  benefit  themselves.  And  they  are  being 
trained  to  work  in  social  matters  with  care  and  thought.  If  any 
choose  not  to  follow  in  the  special  lines  treated  at  the  school,  the 
point  of  view  gained  will  be  most  helpful  to  them  and  to  the 
community  in  whatever  direction  their  energy  is  directed.  So 
we  may  hope  that  the  influence  of  these  schools  will  radiate  far 
beyond  the  limited  field  of  charities,  correction,  settlements,  and 
the  like. 

1  John  M.  Glenn. 


36o    THE   LAUNCHING   OF  A   UNIVERSITY 

Another  element  in  the  training  of  prime  value  is  that  it  gives 
the  student  a  general  but  clear  view  of  the  whole  field  before 
taking  up  any  special  line  of  work.  So  when  he  approaches  a 
family  in  distress  he  is  prepared  to  look  for  all  the  weak  spots  and 
to  prescribe  proper  remedies  of  various  kinds,  material,  moral  and 
spiritual,  to  cure  various  and  varying  needs. 

I  mention  these  points  because  they  have  not,  apparently,  had 
much  stress  laid  on  them. 

During  the  nineteenth  century,  what  is  called  higher 
education  as  distinguished  from  elementary  has  in  this  coun- 
try at  least,  in  accordance  with  the  principles  of  evolution, 
developed  from  the  simple  to  the  complex.  It  was  not  until 
the  nineteenth  century  began  that  there  were  among  us  any 
schools  of  medicine,  law  and  theology.  About  the  middle 
of  the  century  technological  and  scientific  schools  were  es- 
tablished. These  were  soon  subdivided,  and  courses  for 
chemists,  architects,  engineers,  miners  were  provided.  A 
little  later  came  training  for  biologists,  physicists,  psychol- 
ogists, historians,  economists.  Simultaneously  schools  have 
been  established  for  many  varieties  of  manual  industry.  Re- 
cently came  schools  for  nurses.  The  youngest  child  of  Ed- 
ucation is  now  in  his  cradle,  and  is  christened  Philanthropy. 
What  will  this  child  be  and  do  when  he  reaches  maturity? 
The  question  cannot  be  answered.  Yet  human  experience 
shows  that  good  ideas  never  die;  they  expand.  They  may 
be  dormant  like  grains  of  wheat  enwrapped  in  mummy 
cloths,  or  hidden,  like  bread  cast  upon  the  overflow  of  the 
Nile — but  the  vitality  continues.  However,  some  predictions 
may  be  hazarded. 

A  large  number  of  students  will  be  enrolled  as  soon  as 
the  opportunities  and  advantages  are  understood.  This  goes 
without  saying.  Probably  very  few  to  begin  with  will  follow 
one  prescribed  course.  The  attendants  are  likely  to  have 
special  needs  and  the  administration  will  endeavour  to  satisfy 
the  wants  of  individuals,  rather  than  to  form  a  few  classes 
following  a  curriculum.  There  will  certainly  be  many 


PHILANTHROPIC   WORK  361 

lectures  addressed  to  audiences  as  large  as  this  room  will 
contain. 

This  school  will  enlarge  its  special  library  of  books  that 
embody  the  experience  of  mankind  in  all  departments  of 
social  activity.  It  will  include  the  manuals  of  active  or- 
ganisations, reports,  statistics,  addresses.  There  will  be  his- 
tories of  municipalities  and  states.  Walpole's  "  History  of 
England  "  will  be  bought  for  the  one  chapter  on  the  results  of 
English  reform.  There  will  be  biographies  of  the  immor- 
tals, illustrious  benefactors  of  society,  martyrs  and  saints  of 
the  ancient  world,  reformers  and  enthusiasts  of  the  Middle 
Ages.  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  and  Francke  of  Halle  will  stand 
side  by  side  with  more  recent  leaders  in  philanthropy  from 
John  Howard  to  Lord  Shaftesbury,  from  Count  Rumford 
to  Montefiore.  The  works  of  moralists  and  promoters  of 
ethical  culture,  like  Maurice,  Davies,  Lyman  Abbott,  West- 
cott,  Tucker  and  Hodges,  will  be  in  the  library.  Econo- 
mists and  statisticians  will  not  be  omitted.  The  studies  of 
the  liquor  problem  by  the  Committee  of  Fifty,  reports  on 
crime  and  punishment,  from  Francis  Lieber  to  Charlton  T. 
Lewis,  the  year  books  of  Josiah  Strong  and  Robert  Hunter's 
study  of  millions  of  the  poverty-stricken  are  sure  to  be  re- 
membered. Philosophers  will  be  represented  from  the  an- 
cient Greeks  to  Herbert  Spencer ;  and  historians,  like  John  T. 
Merz,  who  has  recently  written  a  remarkable  book  on 
"  European  Thought  in  the  Nineteenth  Century."  There 
will  be  a  shelf  of  choice  books,  bound  with  gilt  edges,  works  of 
the  idealists,  those  torch  bearers  who  peer  into  the  dark- 
ness and  awaken  our  imaginations,  followers  of  Plato  and  our 
own  contemporaries.  A  catalogue  raisonnee,  something 
more  than  lists,  something  less  than  reviews,  should  be  pre- 
pared for  ready  reference.  It  would  have  a  wide  circula- 
tion beyond  the  library  room. 

Not  long  ago  I  asked  the  librarian  of  one  hundred  thou- 
sand books,  how  many  of  them  were  on  the  subject  of  phil- 


362    THE   LAUNCHING   OF  A   UNIVERSITY 

anthropy.  Possibly  fifty,  was  his  reply.  Five  thousand 
should  have  been  the  number.  Ten  thousand  should  be  col- 
lected for  this  new  school. 

With  such  nitrogenous  stimulus,  we  shall,  perhaps,  ere 
long  have  a  series  of  new  and  timely  publications.  Our 
excellent  journal  Charities,  interesting  and  indispensable,  will 
henceforth  be  more  valuable  than  ever.  It  will  be  a  record 
of  progress  at  home  and  abroad.  If  Americans  have  made 
no  such  study  as  that  of  Charles  Booth  in  London,  we  have 
many  capital  contributions,  made  by  our  colleagues  and 
associates,  to  this  branch  of  literature.  The  "  Gesta  Christi  " 
of  Charles  L.  Brace  is  one  such  book;  the  memoir  of  Dr.  S. 
G.  Howe  another.  Remember  the  prison  studies  of  Dr. 
Wines.  Indispensable  are  the  social  statistics  of  the  census, 
the  encyclopaedias  of  Lalor  and  of  Henderson.  The  writ- 
ings of  Miss  Richmond,  Mrs.  Glenn,  Dr.  Devine  are  not 
likely  to  be  forgotten.  You  must  allow  me,  Mr.  President, 
to  name  your  masterly  presentation  of  the  tenement-house 
problem  as  a  most  important  contribution  to  the  welfare  of 
large  cities.  No  wonder  that  Yale,  your  alma  mater,  gave 
you  its  highest  honours  when  that  great  work  appeared. 

Nevertheless,  books  will  not  be  the  chief  instructors  in 
this  School  of  Philanthropy.  As  the  students  of  physical 
science  and  natural  history  learn  from  observation  and  ex- 
periment, our  students  must  be  taught  by  kindred  agencies. 
I  need  hardly  remind  this  audience  that  New  York  is  re- 
dundant with  object  lessons.  It  is  both  a  museum  and  a 
laboratory.  The  most  varied  and  complex  conditions  of 
society  are  here  rooted.  All  the  nations  of  the  world  have 
entered  their  exiles,  with  their  peculiar  virtues  and  their 
peculiar  habits  and  faults.  Every  form  of  decadence,  irre- 
ligion,  vice,  disorder,  crime,  shiftiness,  insanitation  may 
be  discovered.  Captains  of  intemperance  and  immorality 
are  leading  regiments  through  sensuality,  penury  and  sloth 
to  the  almshouse,  the  hospital,  and  the  gaol. 


PHILANTHROPIC  WORK  363 

Thank  God,  that  is  but  half  the  story.  Here  also  the 
ranks  are  full  of  wise,  generous,  ingenious,  self-sacrificing 
and  devoted  men  and  women,  who  are  thwarting  the  down- 
ward tendencies,  uplifting  the  fallen,  recovering  the  dissolute, 
relieving  the  distressed,  bringing  back  wanderers  to  the  paths 
of  thrift  and  virtue,  or,  to  sum  it  up  in  the  Master's  words, 
"  Restoring  sight  to  the  blind." 

Here  to-day  schools,  night  schools,  sewing  schools,  man- 
ual labour  schools,  Carnegie  libraries,  reading-rooms,  pop- 
ular lectures,  cathedrals,  churches,  temples,  gospel  missions, 
are  multiplied  on  a  most  liberal  scale,  adapted  to  all  ages, 
needs,  creeds  and  tongues.  These  we  may  call  prophylactic 
agencies,  corrective  of  bad  tendencies,  bad  habits  and  bad 
tastes.  Moreover,  there  are  in  active  operation  all  forms 
of  relief,  civic,  churchly,  associated,  individual,  fraternal, 
racial,  national.  Neighbourhood  settlements  are  numerous. 
The  children,  the  aged,  the  sick,  the  injured,  the  deficients, 
the  crippled,  all  have  their  benefactors.  Reformatory,  pen- 
itential and  disciplinary  establishments  are  manifold,  nor 
should  we  forget  that  the  higher  institutions  of  learning 
have  able  professors  and  lecturers  who  are  bringing  the  ex- 
perience of  past  ages  and  of  distant  lands  to  the  service  of 
this  place  and  these  days.  Wise  methods  and  bad  methods 
are  exemplified.  Blunders,  mistakes,  limitations,  extrava- 
gances, inexperiences  may  be  pointed  out, — and  still  easier 
is  it  to  show  examples  of  economical,  judicious  and  highly 
successful  administration.  The  best  modes  of  securing 
assistance  from  those  who  can  give  money,  and  from  those 
who  can  give  time,  may  be  studied.  By  lessons  based  on 
such  observations,  these  scholars  may  be  taught. 

Yet  all  these  acquisitions  will  be  dry  and  fruitless,  unless 
with  observation  and  experience  inspiration  is  enlisted  as 
another  teacher.  Fortunate  will  those  be  who  become  in- 
spired by  that  great  body  of  philanthropists  now  at  work 
among  the  unfortunate  and  the  lowly.  The  long  calendar 


364    THE   LAUNCHING   OF  A  UNIVERSITY 

of  those  who  have  been  canonised  in  Rome  may  be  matched 
by  a  calendar  of  brothers  and  sisters  now  vigilant  and  help- 
ful in  the  boroughs  of  New  York.  They  may  or  may  not 
be  marked  by  their  garb,  but  day  after  day,  we  meet,  often 
without  recognition,  the  Hebrew,  Catholic  and  Protestant 
Sisters  of  Charity  and  the  Brothers  of  Misericordia. 

This  review  reminds  me  of  a  great  ecclesiastical  pageant 
which  I  witnessed  under  the  dome  of  St.  Peter's  in  Rome, 
not  long  ago.  Two  saints  were  canonised,  both  of  them  ex- 
amples of  the  modern  well-deserved  recognition  of  charity 
and  of  training.  Santa  Rita  was  a  good  woman  who  lived 
in  a  country  town  several  centuries  ago,  and  performed  the 
very  duties  which  belong  in  our  modern  phraseology,  to  the 
friendly  visitors  among  the  poor;  and  the  other  was  Jean 
Baptist  La  Salle,  founder  of  the  Christian  Brothers,  wise 
advocate  of  the  importance  of  training  in  the  field  of 
education. 

Obviously,  a  school  of  philanthropy  has  its  obligations  far 
beyond  the  library  and  classroom.  It  must  teach  the  public. 
This  may  be  by  public  meetings,  addresses,  tracts,  conferences, 
social  gatherings,  conversations, — all  the  manifold  agencies 
by  which  public  opinion  is  formed.  May  I  be  allowed  to 
speak  of  Baltimore  ?  One  of  the  greatest  conflagrations  in  our 
history  occurred  not  quite  a  year  ago.  How  did  the  com- 
munity act  in  this  hour  of  trial,  this  extreme  test?  No  cry 
of  want,  no  disorder,  no  looting.  The  Legislature  appropri- 
ated $250,000  for  the  needy.  What  happened?  By  our 
United  Charities  all  wants  were  supplied,  and  less  than  $25,- 
ooo  was  drawn  for  relief  from  the  public  chest.  Wise, 
well-taught  and  thrifty  Baltimore, — thanks,  no  doubt,  in 
a  large  degree,  to  the  discussion  of  the  principles  of  relief 
which  for  twenty  years  have  been  inculcated  by  the  school 
of  John  Glenn. 

One  word  more  in  conclusion,  partly  in  repetition.  The 
term,  a  school  of  philanthropy,  is  not  always  understood. 


PHILANTHROPIC   WORK  365 

It  is  novel.  It  suggests  nothing  concrete.  It  sounds  vis- 
ionary, impractical,  needless.  I  have  heard  from  wise  and 
generous  persons  remarks  like  these:  "  Teach  philanthropy? 
Not  much.  Philanthropy  proceeds  from  the  heart,  not  from 
the  head.  Good  will  to  men  is  a  religious  duty,  not  an 
academic  dogma."  To  these  objections  we  may  make  this 
reply.  It  is  true  that  active  philanthropy  must  proceed 
from  an  impulse,  a  desire,  a  purpose,  and  a  principle  to  help 
the  forlorn  and  the  unfortunate.  Without  this  motive  study 
is  in  vain.  Though  I  give  all  my  goods  to  feed  the  poor, 
and  have  not  charity,  it  profiteth  me  nothing.  Likewise, 
one  might  have  all  the  knowledge  that  mankind  has  gathered 
up  respecting  pauperism,  crime,  misery  and  every  form  of 
degradation,  and,  in  fact,  be  a  walking  encyclopaedia  of 
philanthropy,  yet  without  charity,  he  would  be  ineffective; 
he  might  be  worthless  or  worse  as  a  visitor  to  the  poor. 
Upon  this  point  we  are  all  agreed.  It  is  not  open  for 
discussion. 

George  Peabody  was  not  trained  in  any  school  of  phil- 
anthropy, but  he  had  a  good  adviser  in  Robert  C.  Winthrop 
and  an  object  lesson  in  the  slums  of  London.  John  Howard 
was  not  taught  in  any  school  of  philanthropy,  but  how 
much  more  successful  he  would  have  been  if  he  had  known 
the  methods  of  modern  prison  reform.  Florence  Nightin- 
gale was  a  splendid,  self-impelling  force,  devoted  to  the 
service  of  the  sick,  but  she  would  be  the  first  to  admit  that 
the  experience  of  our  Sanitary  Commission,  of  the  Red  Cross, 
and  of  our  schools  for  nurses,  would  have  been  to  her  of 
priceless  value. 

These  are  indeed  exceptional  examples,  and  it  is  not  for 
such  extraordinary  characters  that  this  school  is  projected. 
Nor  is  it  planned  with  reference  to  that  large  and  increasing 
number  of  wealthy  men  and  women  who  are  ready  to  con- 
tribute to  the  support  of  charitable  institutions — though 
even  they  may  learn  much  from  the  records  of  this  institution 


366    THE  LAUNCHING   OF  A   UNIVERSITY 

concerning  the  merits  and  the  demerits  of  establishments 
which  appeal  for  support. 

The  principal  purpose  of  the  School  of  Philanthropy  is 
to  give  counsel  at  the  beginning  of  their  career  to  those  who 
will  seek  it  in  respect  to  the  conduct  and  administration  of 
charitable  institutions;  and  to  impress  the  true  principles  of 
benevolence  and  beneficence  upon  that  numerous  company 
of  young  women  and  young  men  who  are  ready,  in  the  most 
unselfish  way,  to  do  good  as  they  have  opportunity  while 
engaged  in  other  pursuits  or  involved  in  other  duties.  Benev- 
olence and  Beneficence  are  a  couple  that  should  never  be 
divorced. 

Our  claim  is  this — the  experiences  of  the  charitable  world 
must  be  accumulated,  recorded,  digested,  and  applied. 
Those  who  are  willing  to  give  their  time  or  their  leisure  to 
the  help  and  uplifting  of  the  needy  should  be  guided  by  the 
experience  of  other  workers  or  their  best  endeavours  may  be 
thwarted.  To  both  classes,  those  who  will  make  charity  a 
vocation,  and  those  who  will  make  it  an  avocation,  this  school 
will  be  of  inestimable  value. 

Ladies  and  gentlemen,  let  me  congratulate  you  upon  the 
opportunities  before  you.  I  bid  you  Godspeed  in  the  service 
of  humanity,  the  relief  of  distress,  the  prevention  of  poverty, 
the  organisation  of  charity,  and  the  promotion  of  social 
welfare. 


COLONEL  JOHN  EAGER  HOWARD 

The  Hero  of  Cowpens,  One  of  the  Worthies  of 
Baltimore^ 


The  following  address  was  delivered  in  Baltimore 
on  the  i6th  of  January,  1904.  It  was  prepared  with 
reference  to  its  delivery  in  the  open  air,  but  was 
actually  given,  on  account  of  the  weather,  in  the 
neighbouring  hall  of  the  Peabody  Institute. 

The  occasion  was  the  unveiling  of  an  equestrian 
statue  of  Colonel  Howard,  erected  by  the  contributions 
of  members  of  the  Municipal  Art  Society  of  Baltimore. 
A  commemorative  notice  of  the  artist,  M.  Fremiet,  was 
delivered  on  the  same  occasion  by  Mr.  Julian  Leroy 
White. 

Howard  died  October  12,  1827. 


XXII 

COLONEL  JOHN  EAGER  HOWARD:    A  MEMORIAL  ADDRESS 

THE  simple  ceremony  in  which  we  are  about  to  engage 
brings  us  by  a  designed  coincidence  to  the  base  of  a  mon- 
ument which  suggests,  by  its  dignity  and  repose,  the  eminent 
character  that  it  commemorates.  For  more  than  a  hundred 
years  the  name  of  Washington  has  been  honoured  with  un- 
questioned praise  wherever  our  flag  has  gone, — and  never 
in  words  more  fit  than  those  of  Richard  Henry  Lee  which 
every  generation  should  repeat  with  gratitude,  "  First  in 
war,  First  in  peace,  and  First  in  the  hearts  of  his 
countrymen.'* 

We  are  not  so  presumptuous  as  to  think  that  any  act  of 
ours  can  add  lustre  to  his  name,  nor  to  suppose  that  the  art 
of  sculpture,  however  successful  it  may  be,  can  enhance  the 
beauty  of  that  column,  "  simple,  erect,  austere,  sublime," 
near  which  we  have  placed  the  statue  of  another  soldier  of 
the  Revolution.  Nevertheless,  it  is  a  pleasure  to  associate 
with  the  name  of  Washington,  the  name  of  a  Marylander 
subordinate  to  the  great  Commander,  who  like  him  fought, 
suffered,  and  triumphed ;  in  war,  a  hero ;  in  peace,  a  servant 
of  the  State;  the  patriot  soldier,  Colonel  John  Eager 
Howard. 

From  the  days  of  Cincinnatus  until  recent  times  there 
have  been  commanders  who  laid  down  their  swords  when 
strife  was  ended,  and  who  engaged  in  the  pursuits  of  civil 
life  until  called  by  their  countrymen  to  renewed  service  in 
the  councils  of  the  government.  At  Annapolis,  in  a  chamber 
which  should  be  forever  sacred  as  one  of  the  shrines  of 
American  patriotism,  Washington  surrendered  his  com- 

369 


370    THE   LAUNCHING   OF  A   UNIVERSITY 

mission,  and  thence  he  returned,  soon  afterwards,  to  his 
home  at  Mt.  Vernon,  where  he  remained  until  the  people 
made  him  President.  In  like  manner,  in  a  less  conspicuous 
but  not  less  patriotic  way,  Howard,  after  the  years  of 
military  privation  and  perils  were  passed,  found  repose  in 
Belvedere,  his  country-seat,  remaining  the  foremost  citizen 
of  Baltimore  until  he  was  chosen  first  the  Governor  of 
Maryland  and  afterwards  a  Senator  of  the  United  States. 
Despondent  Americans  sometimes  express  the  fear,  if  they 
do  not  suppress  the  hope,  that  from  our  democracy  an  im- 
perial monarchy  will  arise,  and  that  some  Caesar  or  Napoleon 
will  assume  the  power  of  a  dictator;  but  such  a  possibility, 
to  us  abhorrent,  will  never  become  a  reality  among  those 
who  cherish  the  words  and  the  examples  of  Washington  and 
Howard. 

In  travelling  through  this  and  other  lands,  it  is  interesting 
to  note  the  various  embodiments  in  sculpture  of  popular 
affection  for  heroes.  In  Rome  on  the  Capitoline  hill  stands 
one  of  the  noblest  remains  of  ancient  art, — the  statue  of 
Marcus  Aurelius  Antoninus, — and  as  if  stimulated  by  this 
remembrance,  almost  every  city  of  Italy  has  its  statues  of 
Garibaldi,  Cavour,  and  Victor  Emmanuel.  Near  the  banks 
of  the  Neva,  Catherine  the  Second  placed  on  a  mass  of 
granite  the  spirited  figure  of  Peter  the  Great.  In  the  capital 
of  Prussia,  Frederick  the  Great  is  honoured  by  one  of  the 
finest  monuments  of  modern  art,  the  superb  work  of  Rauch. 
On  the  Rue  de  Rivoli  in  Paris,  the  very  sculptor  whose  work 
is  before  us,  has  modelled  an  equestrian  figure  of  the  far- 
famed  deliverer  of  France,  the  Maid  of  Orleans.  In  London, 
Nelson's  column  overlooks  Westminster.  The  dome  of  St. 
Paul's  covers  the  monument  of  the  Iron  Duke  as  the  dome 
of  the  Invalides  in  Paris  enshrines  the  remains  of  his  antago- 
nist. There  are  statues  of  Washington  in  Boston,  New 
York,  Philadelphia,  Washington,  and  Richmond ;  lately,  also, 
by  the  generosity  of  American  women,  in  the  capital  of 


COLONEL  JOHN   EAGER   HOWARD       371 

France.  To  one  of  the  greatest  of  living  sculptors  we  owe 
the  memorials  of  Farragut  and  Sherman  in  New  York,  of 
Shaw  in  Boston,  and  of  Lincoln  in  Chicago.  The  city  of 
Washington  has  many  equestrian  statues.  Richmond  has 
its  Robert  E.  Lee.  These  are  but  examples  of  the  homage 
paid  to  wisdom,  courage,  and  self -sacrifice, — monuments, 
often,  but  unfortunately  not  always,  produced  by  artists  of 
genius,  usually  if  not  always  evoked  by  sentiments  of  the 
loftiest  patriotism. 

The  statue  now  erected  in  Baltimore  is  certainly  worthy  to 
be  named  among  those  already  mentioned,  both  because  of 
its  distinction  as  a  work  of  art  by  one  of  the  foremost  sculptors 
in  the  city  of  Paris,  the  focus  of  modern  art,  and  also  because 
of  the  man  commemorated.  It  is  a  tribute  of  admiration  and 
affection  from  certain  members  of  the  Municipal  Art  Society 
of  Baltimore  who  cherish  with  gratitude  the  memory  of 
Howard.  The  work  of  the  artist,  M.  Fremiet,  sustains  his 
high  reputation.  The  details  of  costume  and  equipment  in 
the  time  of  the  Revolutionary  War  have  been  carefully  re- 
produced. The  attitude  and  expression  of  the  hero  are 
dignified  and  spirited.  Henceforward,  the  citizen  in  his 
daily  walks,  the  stranger  as  he  enters  the  city,  the  student 
as  he  goes  to  the  library,  the  children  as  they  gather  about 
the  monument  of  Washington,  will  be  attracted  by  this 
figure,  and  as  they  think  of  the  person  thus  honoured,  seventy- 
six  years  after  his  death,  they  will  learn  a  lesson  of  patriot- 
ism, courage,  public  spirit  and  good  citizenship.  If  they 
inquire,  they  will  be  told  that  among  the  men  of  Maryland, 
in  the  formative  period  of  this  nation,  none  served  the  com- 
monwealth better  than  the  friend  of  Washington  and  La- 
fayette ;  the  supporter  of  Greene ;  in  "  times  that  tried  men's 
souls,"  the  unflinching  patriot,  brave  on  many  battle-fields; 
in  the  public  councils,  a  wise  and  unblemished  statesman; 
throughout  his  life  the  public-spirited  benefactor  of  Baltimore. 

Howard  does  not  stand  alone  among  the  worthies  of 


372    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

Maryland  commemorated  by  their  grateful  fellow-citizens. 
In  the  national  capitol,  the  Legislature  has  placed  the  statues 
of  John  Hanson  and  Charles  Carroll;  near  the  state-house 
in  Annapolis  we  are  reminded  of  the  gallantry  of  that  great 
leader  of  the  Maryland  Line,  General  DeKalb.  There  is 
a  truly  speaking  likeness  of  Chief  Justice  Taney  in  the 
statue  by  our  own  Rinehart.  The  figure  of  George  Peabody 
has  been  placed  in  front  of  the  athenaeum  which  he  founded. 
Soon,  in  a  public  place,  we  shall  see  a  representation  of  one 
whose  departure  we  still  mourn,  whose  pen  still  counsels, 
whose  example  still  inspires  the  young  men  of  Baltimore — 
Severn  Teackle  Wallis.  Hereafter,  others  will  thus  be 
brought  to  remembrance  by  the  sculptor's  art.  Among 
them,  there  should  certainly  be  a  tribute  to  the  founder  of 
the  university  and  hospital  which  have  brought  so  much  dis- 
tinction and  benefit  to  this  city.  There  are  other  heroes  of 
the  Revolution,  of  whom  we  are  reminded  by  the  life  and 
services  of  Howard,  especially  participants  in  the  Southern 
campaign.  General  Gist,  General  Otho  H.  Williams,  Gen- 
eral Smallwood,  and  Colonel  John  Gunby. 

In  order  that  justice  may  be  done  to  the  career  of  a  man 
of  mark,  it  is  necessary  to  consider  the  times  in  which  he 
lived  and  the  opportunities  which  were  opened  to  him.  If 
"  all  the  world's  a  stage  and  all  the  men  and  women  merely 
players,"  we  must  give  heed  to  the  scenes,  the  accessories 
and  the  associated  characters  of  the  drama.  A  great  historian, 
whose  graphic  style  fixes  the  attention  of  every  reader  quite 
as  firmly  as  Macaulay's,  has  acknowledged  his  obligations 
to  Shakespeare's  dramatic  treatment  of  historic  events.  He 
presents  the  stage,  the  actors  and  the  deeds.  For  a  study 
of  the  American  Revolution,  the  material  is  superabundant. 
The  story  of  that  great  series  of  events  has  been  told  again 
and  again,  not  only  by  annalists  and  biographers,  but  by 
historians,  many  of  whom  had  rare  gifts  of  expression  and 
knew  how  to  omit  the  unessential  from  their  narratives  and 


COLONEL  JOHN   EAGER   HOWARD       373 

give  emphasis  to  important  crises;  therefore  a  few  words 
only  will  be  needed  to  remind  you  of  the  circumstances 
under  which  the  character  of  Howard  was  developed.  The 
pages  of  Lee,  Marshall,  Tarleton,  Greene,  Bancroft,  Fiske, 
Trevelyan,  Wilson,  Doyle  and  recently  of  McCrady  are 
accessible  to  those  who  wish  for  a  closer  study  of  the  period. 
In  a  cursory  way,  it  may  be  said  that  the  Revolutionary 
War  was  fought  in  three  regions, — north  of  the  Potomac, 
south  of  the  Potomac,  and  west  of  the  Alleghenies.  The 
engagements  in  the  West  are  less  vividly  remembered,  but 
the  work  of  George  R.  Clark  and  his  followers  secured  to 
the  Americans  the  permanent  possession  of  the  Ohio  valley. 
Campaigns  in  the  North  began  in  1775,  in  eastern  Massa- 
chusetts, and  continued  with  varying  results  until  the  close 
of  the  war,  chiefly  on  the  seaboard  and  in  the  natural  high- 
way to  Canada  by  the  Hudson  River  and  the  Lakes  George 
and  Champlain.  The  most  decisive  battle  was  fought  in 
October,  1777,  at  Saratoga,  when  the  British  army  met 
with  disastrous  defeat  and  General  Burgoyne  surrendered. 
The  fighting  continued  notwithstanding  this  victory,  and  the 
names  of  many  a  battlefield  in  New  York,  New  Jersey,  and 
Pennsylvania  recall  the  patience  and  the  bravery  of  the 
American  army.  The  Southern  campaigns  began  with  the 
British  capture  of  Savannah  and  the  subsequent  capture  of 
Charleston  and  the  adjacent  seaboard,  so  that  in  1780  Corn- 
wallis  was  ready  to  begin  his  strenuous  endeavours  to  re- 
cover in  the  South  the  prestige  which  Burgoyne  had  lost  in 
the  North.  His  efforts  were  largely  directed  toward  the 
suppression  of  all  patriotic  sentiments  among  the  inhabitants 
of  Georgia  and  the  Carolinas.  He  was  gradually  led  to 
take  up  his  position  at  Yorktown,  where  the  American  and 
French  forces  compelled  his  surrender.  By  the  defeat  of 
Cornwallis  the  war  was  virtually  closed,  and  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  United  Colonies,  proclaimed  five  years  be- 
fore, was  secured. 


374    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

Such  was  the  drama  of  the  Revolution.  Let  us  now  see 
the  entrance  upon  the  stage  of  Howard,  the  man  whom  we 
are  assembled  to  honour. 

When  the  gales,  foretold  by  Patrick  Henry,  in  words 
that  every  schoolboy  used  to  know  by  heart,  had  swept  from 
the  North  and  brought  to  the  listening  ears  of  anxious 
Southerners  the  clash  of  resounding  arms,  Maryland  was 
ready  to  do  her  part  in  support  of  the  principles  of  inde- 
pendence. Among  the  earliest  to  enlist  was  James  Mc- 
Henry,  who  began  as  an  army  surgeon  and  who  rose  by  his 
merits  to  the  post  of  Secretary  of  War  under  Washington 
and  Adams.  His  monument  is  Fort  McHenry,  in  the  har- 
bour, over  which  the  Star  Spangled  Banner  "  still  waved  " 
on  a  memorable  morning  in  1814. 

Another  young  man,  then  twenty-four  years  old,  of  good 
family  and  education,  living  in  circumstances  of  comfort  if 
not  of  affluence,  in  Baltimore  County,  joined  the  army,  in 
1776.  Even  two  years  earlier,  in  November,  1774,  he  had 
taken  part  in  those  patriotic  proceedings  of  the  people  of 
Maryland  which  established  the  principle  of  independence. 
He  was  offered  the  commission  of  a  colonel,  but  with  the 
modesty  which  characterised  his  life,  he  declined  the  re- 
sponsibility of  that  position  and  instead  of  it  accepted  the 
commission  of  a  captain,  in  what  was  called  "  the  flying 
camp,"  commanded  by  Colonel  J.  Carvel  Hall.  In  two 
days  Captain  John  Eager  Howard  had  recruited  a  company 
and  with  it  he  marched  toward  the  scene  of  action  in  the 
North,  where  his  services  began  in  the  battle  of  White  Plains. 
Shortly  afterwards  his  corps  was  dismissed,  and  the  captain 
was  promoted  to  be  a  major  in  one  of  the  battalions  of  the 
line,  then  enlisted  by  Congress  for  the  war.  The  "  Mary- 
land Line  "  having  completed  its  organisation  in  the  spring 
of  1777,  Howard,  with  his  command,  joined  the  army  in 
New  Jersey  and  remained  with  it  until  his  father's  death 
compelled  a  return  to  Baltimore,  After  a  short  respite,  he 


COLONEL   JOHN    EAGER   HOWARD       375 

went  back  to  his  post  and  took  part  in  the  battle  of  Ger- 
mantown,  where  Maryland  troops  formed  a  considerable 
part  of  Sullivan's  division  on  the  right  of  the  army.  As 
the  colonel  of  his  regiment  was  disabled  the  command  of  it 
devolved  upon  Howard.  It  is  an  oft-noted  coincidence  that 
the  house  of  Chief  Justice  Chew,  which  proved  to  be  a  castle 
for  the  British  commander,  a  temporary  fortress,  as  it  was 
called,  was  the  summer  residence  of  the  future  Mrs.  Howard. 
The  Americans  were  unsuccessful,  chiefly  because  a  dense 
fog  hung  over  the  region  and  prevented  the  transmission  of 
orders  and  the  concentration  of  effort.  There  is  extant  a 
vivid  account  of  this  battle,  written  by  Colonel  Howard, 
which  distinctly  shows  the  brave  and  determined  action  of 
his  regiment.  The  battle  of  Monmouth  followed  and  with 
it  closes  the  first  chapter  of  Howard's  experience. 

The  second  chapter  is  more  eventful.  The  troops  of 
Maryland  and  Delaware  were  ordered  to  the  relief  of 
Charleston,  and  Howard,  then  lieutenant-colonel  of  the 
Fifth  Maryland  Regiment  in  the  army  of  the  United  States, 
prepared  to  go  with  them.  Several  hotly  contested  battles 
were  fought  with  alternating  defeats  and  victories,  Corn- 
wallis  trying  to  secure  complete  control  of  the  Carolinas, 
before  carrying  the  war  into  Virginia.  The  result  was 
Yorktown. 

The  country  traversed  by  the  contending  forces  includes 
the  States  of  Georgia,  North  and  South  Carolina,  and  a  part 
of  Southern  Virginia.  It  lies  east  of  the  mountains  and 
descends  from  a  piedmont  or  plateau  region  to  the  seaboard, 
where  the  harbours  already  named  attracted  the  enemy.  The 
tract  is  crossed  by  many  streams,  flowing  to  the  ocean  in  a 
southeasterly  direction  and  easily  crossed  by  fords  in  their 
upper  courses.  In  this  region,  besides  the  cities  of  the  coast, 
the  strategic  points  were  Camden,  Augusta,  and  Ninety- 
Six,  where  important  roads  converged.  The  inhabitants  of 
this  country  were  not  of  one  mind.  Many  of  them  were 


376    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

loyal  to  the  crown ;  more  espoused  the  cause  of  independence 
and  liberty;  some  were  on  both  sides, — according  to  the 
fortunes  of  war.  Indeed,  the  campaigns  had  many  of  the 
saddest  characteristics  of  a  civil  war.  In  this  up-river 
country  there  were  marches  and  counter-marches  of  the 
hostile  forces  leading  to  engagements  which  were  severe  but 
not  decisive. 

Two  foreigners  who  took  part  in  the  Southern  campaign 
are  worthy  of  remembrance  here  and  now,  Pulaski  and  De- 
Kalb,  the  Pole  and  the  German.  One  fell  in  the  siege  of 
Savannah,  one  in  the  battle  of  Camden;  both  deserve  our 
grateful  homage.  DeKalb  brought  the  prestige  of  one  who 
had  been  trained  in  the  best  of  European  schools, — an 
Alsatian,  who  had  been  a  brigadier  in  the  French  army,  had 
been  encouraged  by  Franklin  and  Silas  Deane  to  join  the 
American  forces,  and  had  been  intrusted  by  Washington  with 
important  commands.  A  little  imagination  will  suggest  the 
impression  made  by  this  famous  soldier  upon  the  young 
men  of  Maryland. 

There  is  a  contemporary  account  of  the  campaigns  of 
1780-1  so  short  that  none  need  pass  it  by,  so  trustworthy 
that  all  may  accept  it.  It  comes  from  the  pen  of  one  of 
the  best  writers  and  one  of  the  greatest  statesmen  of  the 
period, — James  Madison,  then  recently  graduated  from 
Princeton  College  and  afterwards  President  of  the  United 
States. 

With  the  ultimate  victory,  it  is  well  to  bring  into  contrast 
the  previous  desperation.  When  Greene  had  been  in  com- 
mand about  six  weeks,  eight  days  before  Cowpens,  he  was 
so  dismayed  that  he  wrote  these  words :  "  The  wants  of 
this  army  are  so  numerous  and  various  that  the  shortest  way 
of  telling  you  is  to  inform  you  that  we  have  nothing.  We 
are  living  upon  charity  and  subsist  by  daily  collections." 
There  had  been  a  series  of  changes  and  misfortunes.  Pulaski 
was  killed  at  Savannah,  Lincoln  had  been  succeeded  by  De- 


COLONEL   JOHN    EAGER    HOWARD       377 

Kalb,  DeKalb  had  given  way  to  Gates,  the  hero  of  Saratoga, 
and  Gates  gave  way  to  Greene. 

The  campaigns  in  the  interior  begin  with  the  battle  of 
Camden,  in  the  northern  part  of  South  Carolina,  where 
Gates  met  Cornwallis.  It  is  no  pleasure  to  recall  that  battle, 
for  in  it  the  Americans  were  wofully  beaten.  One  historian 
says:  "  Never  was  victory  more  complete  or  defeat  more 
total " ;  too  strong  a  statement,  for,  although  the  Americans 
were  driven  back  after  a  bloody  encounter,  the  enemy  was 
not  equal  to  pursuit.  We  have  also  the  satisfaction  of  know- 
ing that  the  Maryland  soldiers  were  not  wanting  in  discipline 
and  courage. 

Soon  followed  the  battle  of  King's  Mountain  (October 
7,  1780),  when  the  tide  turned.  Major  Ferguson  had  been 
sent  by  Cornwallis  to  scour  the  western  part  of  South  Car- 
olina and  join  him  at  Charlotte,  N.  C.  This  brilliant 
partisan  leader  was  pursued  by  a  body  of  patriot  forces,  ir- 
regular but  determined,  who  found  him  posted  on  King's 
Mountain.  Here  Ferguson,  after  a  desperate  resistance,  was 
completely  routed  and  he  fell  at  the  head  of  his  regulars, 
shot  by  seven  bullets.  By  this  brilliant  victory  the  Americans 
made  up  for  their  defeat  at  Camden. 

Upon  the  third  engagement  I  ask  you  to  dwell,  partly 
because  of  its  great  importance,  partly  because  in  it  the 
Baltimore  colonel  won  his  greatest  distinction, — the  battle 
of  Cowpens.  In  the  northwest  corner  of  South  Carolina, 
near  the  boundary  line,  the  opposing  forces  met  at  a  place 
then  called  Hannah's  Cow  Pens, — part  of  a  grazing  estab- 
lishment belonging  to  a  man  named  Hannah. 

Tarleton,  the  lieutenant  of  Cornwallis,  and  the  subsequent 
historian  of  his  Southern  campaigns,  commanded  the  British, 
and  Morgan,  brave  General  Daniel  Morgan  of  Saratoga 
fame,  was  the  lieutenant  of  General  Greene.  Many  valiant 
men  were  there  assembled.  Morgan  was  splendid  in  his 
courage,  wisdom,  reputation,  and  patriotism.  So  was  Wil- 


378      THE  LAUNCHING  OF  A  UNIVERSITY 

liam  Washington,  kinsman  of  the  Father  of  his  country,  a 
gallant  leader  of  the  cavalry.  A  little  boy  of  fourteen  saw 
the  battle, — one  who  became  the  hero  of  New  Orleans,  Gen- 
eral Andrew  Jackson.  The  grandfather  of  Edwin  Warfield, 
now  Governor  of  Maryland,  commanded  a  company.  The 
fight  continued  but  a  short  time.  While  it  lasted,  it  was 
fierce.  Howard,  with  his  regiment  of  Marylanders,  held  the 
key  to  the  situation  and  they  took  good  care  that  the  lock 
should  not  be  forced  by  the  soldiers  of  George  the  Third. 
The  Maryland  colonel  proved  himself  equal  to  his  oppor- 
tunity. A  moment's  hesitation,  a  timid  advance,  a  half- 
hearted leader  might  have  lost  everything.  But  Howard 
was  quick  to  think,  bold  in  action,  inspiring  as  a  leader. 
He  won  the  battle,  and  it  was  won  by  the  use  of  that  formid- 
able weapon, — the  bayonet.  The  report  of  the  commanding 
officer,  General  Greene,  tells  the  story  tersely.  At  a  critical 
moment,  he  says,  when  the  British  were  pressing  hard  upon 
the  Americans,  "  Colonel  Howard,  observing  this,  gave 
orders  to  charge  bayonets,  which  was  done  with  such  address 
that  the  enemy  fled  with  the  utmost  precipitation  and  aban- 
doned their  artillery."  Although  afterwards  freely  employed 
by  the  Maryland  line,  we  have  the  authority  of  Henry  Lee 
for  the  statement  that  "  at  Cowpens  the  bayonet  was  first 
resorted  to  in  the  war  " ;  and  that  of  Morgan,  the  com- 
manding officer,  for  saying  that  when  the  enemy  showed 
signs  of  disorder,  it  was  Colonel  Howard  who  "  gave  orders 
for  the  line  to  charge  bayonets,  which  was  done  with  such 
address  that  the  enemy  fled  with  utmost  precipitation.  At 
the  close  of  the  engagement  the  swords  of  seven  British 
officers  were  in  the  hands  of  Howard." 

All  the  historians  are  agreed  upon  the  importance  of  this 
engagement.  It  is  characterised  by  Bancroft  as  the  most 
astonishing  victory  of  the  war,  and  by  Fiske  in  words  of 
equal  weight,  as  the  most  brilliant  battle  of  the  War 
of  Independence.  Congress  was  delighted.  After  days  of 


COLONEL  JOHN   EAGER   HOWARD       379 

cloud  and  hurricane,  sunshine  had  appeared.  Courage  and 
hope  took  the  place  of  anxiety.  Without  delay,  as  an  ex- 
pression of  gratitude,  a  gold  medal  was  voted  to  Morgan  and 
silver  medals  to  William  Washington  and  Howard.  I  hold 
before  you  the  original  Howard  medal.  On  the  obverse,  a 
mounted  horseman  galloping  forward,  follows  the  flag  of 
his  country,  while  the  angel  of  victory  hovers  near,  ready 
to  bestow  a  wreath  of  laurels.  The  inscriptions  are  in 
Latin.  On  one  side  it  reads, — To  John  Eager  Howard, 
leader  of  the  infantry, — (thus  in  contrast  with  the  medal 
given  to  William  Washington  as  leader  of  the  cavalry;) 
and  on  the  reverse  it  declares  that  the  medal  is  bestowed 
upon  the  recipient  because  he  gave  a  brilliant  example  of 
military  valour  by  his  sudden  attack  upon  the  enemy,  in 
the  battle  of  Cowpens,  January  17,  1781.  There  is  good 
authority  for  saying  that  the  French  Academy  was  requested 
to  furnish  a  design  for  this  medal,  and  that  its  skilful  ex- 
ecution is  the  work  of  the  artist  Duvivier.  A  replica  of 
the  medal  I  will  ask  Governor  Warfield  to  accept  as  a 
memento  of  this  celebration  and  also  of  the  victory  in  which 
his  ancestor  took  part. 

Three  months  after  the  engagement  at  the  Cowpens,  the 
contending  forces  met  again  at  Guilford  Court  House, 
where  Marylanders  of  our  day  have  placed  a  monument  to 
commemorate  the  valour  of  their  countrymen.  The  story 
has  been  recently  told  by  those  who  are  well  qualified 
to  do  justice  to  the  bravery  there  displayed  on  the  I5th  of 
March,  1781.  Howard  and  Gunby  led  the  first  Maryland 
Regiment,  again  using  the  bayonet.  Although  Greene  left 
the  battlefield  in  British  possession,  the  battle  of  Guilford 
"  marks  the  end  of  British  power  in  North  Carolina."  So 
says  Bancroft.  Fiske  is  even  more  explicit.  "  Guilford, 
tactically  a  defeat,  strategetically  a  decisive  victory,  the  most 
important  since  the  capture  of  Burgoyne."  A  British  his- 
torian truly  says  that  the  victory  was  so  fruitless  and  the 


38o    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

losses  so  severe  that  the  battle  may  be  considered  "  as  the 
first  step  in  a  series  of  movements  which  terminated  in  the 
overthrow  of  the  British  power  in  America." 

Six  weeks  later  the  armies  met  again  (April  25),  at 
Hobkirk's  Hill,  two  miles  from  Camden,  so  that  the  engage- 
ment has  been  called  the  second  battle  of  Camden.  Again 
the  British  gained  the  field  but  they  did  not  hold  it,  and  the 
commander,  Lord  Rawdon,  retired  toward  Charleston. 

In  the  early  autumn  the  battle  of  Eutaw  Springs  was 
fought  (September  8).  'General  Greene,  following  the 
enemy,  came  upon  them  under  Lieutenant-Colonel  Stewart, 
about  sixty  miles  from  Charleston.  Two  severe  engage- 
ments ensued  with  heavy  losses  on  both  sides,  the  Americans 
at  first  successful,  then  the  British.  As  had  happened  before, 
the  invaders  retreated  toward  their  base  at  Charleston,  where 
they  were  shut  up  until  the  end  came.  General  Greene's 
tribute  to  the  Maryland  line  is  this: 

"  Nothing  could  exceed  the  gallantry  of  the  Maryland 
line.  Colonels  Williams,  Howard,  and  all  the  officers  ex- 
hibited acts  of  uncommon  bravery;  and  the  free  use  of  the 
bayonet  gave  us  the  victory.  Many  brave  fellows  have 
fallen,  and  a  great  number  of  officers  are  wounded.  Among 
the  number  is  Lieutenant-Colonel  Howard.  The  Maryland 
line  made  a  charge  that  exceeded  anything  I  ever  saw.  But, 
alas!  their  ranks  are  thin,  and  their  officers  are  few." 

The  wound  in  the  shoulder  which  Howard  received  in 
this  battle  was  so  severe  that  he  was  compelled  to  go  home 
for  surgical  treatment,  and  thus  he  was  unable  to  take  part 
in  the  final  scenes  of  the  drama.  The  curtain  fell  when  the 
combined  armies  of  the  North  and  South,  with  the  aid  of 
the  fleet  met  Cornwallis  on  the  historic  peninsula  between 
the  York  and  the  James,  and  the  War  of  Independence  was 
over. 

Fighting  ended,  peace  declared,  the  troops  disbanded, 
Howard  remained  on  his  ancestral  property  in  Baltimore, — 


COLONEL  JOHN   EAGER   HOWARD       381 

a  town  of  possibly  twenty  thousand  inhabitants,  quite 
eclipsed  in  dignity  by  the  capital,  Annapolis.  Although 
we  have  no  such  picture  of  colonial  life  in  Baltimore  as  that 
which  is  given  respecting  Albany,  by  Mrs.  Grant,  in  her 
Letters, — Mr.  John  P.  Kennedy,  in  his  address  on  "  Balti- 
more long  ago,"  gives  a  picture  of  the  place  not  far  from 
the  year  1800.  William  Wirt,  as  late  as  1822,  describes 
the  Washington  monument  as  "  indescribably  striking  from 
the  touching  solitude  of  the  scene  from  which  it  lifts  its 
head."  Overlooking  a  rapid  water  course  (which  might 
have  been  "a  joy  forever"  instead  of  a  cloaca  maxima), 
stood  Belvedere,  a  spacious  mansion  surrounded  by  a  wooded 
park,  which  extended  from  Jones's  Falls  beyond  the  site  of 
the  monument  on  the  south,  and  beyond  Howard  Street  on 
the  west.  Here  was  Howard's  home  during  the  later  years 
of  his  life.1  Here  he  received  his  neighbours  and  friends,  as 
well  as  his  companions  in  arms,  who  were  passing  through 
town  on  the  great  highway  between  the  South  and  the  North. 
Lafayette  was  the  most  distinguished  of  them  all  after 
Washington.  The  veteran  of  Belvedere  was  not  idle.  Per- 
sonal affairs  required  much  attention;  but  they  did  not  pre- 
clude obedience  to  public  duties. 

The  readiness  with  which  the  voters  in  this  Republic 
turn  to  those  who  have  won  distinction  in  military  action, 
when  leaders  are  required,  is  certainly  remarkable.  Soldiers 
of  the  Revolution,  of  the  War  of  1812,  of  the  Mexican  War, 
of  the  Civil  War,  and  of  the  Cuban  War,  have  successfully 
been  candidates  for  exalted  stations  in  civil  life,  and  in  several 
instances  have  risen  to  the  very  highest  posts.  Nor  does 
this  indicate  an  extravagant  admiration  of  military  renown. 
Interference  with  civil  rights  or  usurpation,  in  any  form, 

1  He  was  born  at  the  place  settled  by  his  grandfather  in  the 
"  Garrison  Forest."  Belvedere  was  built  on  the  property  which 
came  to  him  from  his  mother. — Note  by  Mr.  McHenry  Howard,  to 
whom  the  speaker  was  indebted  for  much  valuable  information. 


382    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

would  be  met  with  summary  resistance, — no  matter  how 
great  a  favourite  of  the  people  might  venture  on  this  for- 
bidden path.  But  these  preferences  for  heroes  are  an  indi- 
cation that  qualities  developed  in  the  service  of  the  army, — 
courage,  endurance,  self-forgetfulness,  power  to  control  one's 
self  and  one's  subordinates,  obedience  to  authority  and  the 
subjection  to  the  public  good  of  all  personal  considerations, 
— command  the  confidence  and  receive  the  homage  of  the 
people  when  these  qualities  are  brought  clearly  to  their 
notice. 

At  frequent  intervals  Colonel  Howard  was  called  to  the 
discharge  of  important  civil  functions.  When  only  thirty- 
six  years  old  he  was  chosen  Governor  of  Maryland,  and  at 
forty-two  he  became  a  Senator  of  the  United  States.  The 
duties  of  both  high  stations  were  performed  acceptably  and 
faithfully.  He  declined  the  office  of  Secretary  of  War 
urged  upon  him  by  Washington.  Few  of  us  will  hesitate 
to  say  that  the  services  of  Howard  rendered  to  the  common- 
wealth in  the  advancing  years  of  his  life,  when  a  wounded 
soldier  might  have  claimed  a  dignified  rest,  are  as  worthy 
of  remembrance  as  those  of  his  military  campaigns.  Just 
think  of  them.  An  honourable  descendant  of  this  honourable 
man  has  placed  in  my  hands  a  list  of  the  stations  to  which 
Colonel  Howard  was  called  after  1783.  It  is  a  remark- 
able list, — one  that  is  seldom  equalled  in  the  annals  of 
American  biography.  Let  me  enumerate  the  more  significant 
places:  -more  than  once  a  justice  of  the  County  Court;  a 
Justice  of  the  Orphans'  Court ;  a  delegate  to  the  Congress  of 
the  Confederation;  thrice  Governor;  for  five  years  a  State 
Senator;  a  presidential  elector;  a  major-general  of  the 
militia  of  Maryland;  president  of  the  Maryland  Society  of 
the  Cincinnati  for  twenty-three  years;  for  seven  years  a 
Senator  of  the  United  States ;  brigadier-general  in  the  United 
States  army  when  a  foreign  war  was  expected ;  in  the  War 
of  1812,  one  of  the  committee  of  viligance  and  defence. 


COLONEL  JOHN   EAGER   HOWARD 

When  the  capitulation  of  Baltimore  was  suggested  the  aged 
hero  said  that  he  had  four  sons  in  the  field  and  as  much 
property  at  stake  as  most  persons,  but  would  rather  see  his 
sons  slain  and  his  property  reduced  to  ashes  than  so  far  dis- 
grace his  country. 

Not  many  manuscripts  of  Howard  are  known  to  me,  ex- 
cept such  as  have  been  printed.  The  following  letter,  ad- 
dressed to  Robert  Gilmor,  from  Philadelphia,  June  26, 
1788,  deserves  to  be  given,  particularly  because  it  shows  the 
attitude  of  the  writer  respecting  the  adoption  of  the  Federal 
Constitution : 

I  congratulate  you  on  the  interesting  event  of  the  ratification 
of  the  Federal  Government  by  the  State  of  New  Hampshire.  It 
now  becomes  a  question  with  the  States  that  have  not  adopted  the 
Government,  whether  they  will  make  a  part  of  the  union  or  not. 
In  the  present  situation  of  affairs  this  is  with  them  a  serious  ques- 
tion. Notwithstanding  the  objections  to  the  Government  that  it 
will  swallow  up  the  state  Governments,  no  person  uninfluenced 
by  selfish  views  can  think  that  any  State  by  withdrawing  itself 
from  the  Union  will  be  in  a  more  eligible  situation  than  those  in  the 
Union.  The  Government  once  established  they  in  my  opinion  will 
soon  become  petitioners  to  be  admitted,  except  those  under  the 
influence  of  turbulent  men  who  wish  to  be  at  the  head  of  a  faction, 
or  those  whose  interest  it  is  to  be  without  any  Government.  If 
Virginia  follows  the  example  of  New  Hampshire,  we  shall  I  hope 
secure  to  this  country  the  blessings  of  peace  and  become  respectable, 
which  I  hardly  expect  without  some  struggle. 

When  rupture  with  France  was  imminent  at  the  close 
of  the  century,  he  was  offered  the  appointment  of  brigadier- 
general  under  Washington,  who  was  expected  to  command 
once  more  the  United  States  army.  When  Baltimore  was 
threatened  by  the  British,  in  1814,  Howard,  already  more 
that  sixty  years  old,  came  at  once  to  the  front.  Thus  inter- 
changing the  repose  of  a  private  citizen  with  the  respon- 
sibilities of  a  public  servant,  he  passed  on  to  the  age  of 
seventy-five  years  and  then,  after  a  brief  illness,  expired. 


384    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

"  During  the  summer  his  strength  had  been  evidently  de- 
clining and  his  desire  for  life  grew  less  and  less.  On  the 
3d  of  October  he  rode  out  on  horseback  and  took  cold,  after 
which  he  was  under  the  constant  care  of  his  physicians  and 
of  his  family  until  he  was  released  by  death,"  October 
12,  1827. 

The  funeral  was  attended  from  Belvedere  and  the  pro- 
cession moved,  as  the  papers  say,  "  through  the  park,"  Centre 
Street,  Calvert  Street,  and  Baltimore  Street  to  the  cemetery 
of  St.  Paul's  Church,  where  a  simple  monument  marks  his 
resting  place.  Next  day  the  Baltimore  American  contained 
an  appreciative  account  of  his  life,  evidently  carefully  pre- 
pared by  a  skilful  writer,  probably  an  eminent  prelate. 
Some  passages  of  it  have  been  incorporated  in  almost  all 
the  notices  of  Colonel  Howard  that  have  since  appeared. 

On  this  occasion,  after  such  a  review,  what  words  can 
be  so  fitting  as  those  of  General  Nathanael  Greene,  second 
to  Washington  in  the  army  of  the  Revolution,  who  expressed, 
in  a  letter  which  should  be  treasured  as  a  priceless  heir- 
loom, more  valuable  than  a  patent  of  nobility,  the  sentiment 
— "  Howard  deserves  a  statue  no  less  than  the  Roman  and 
Grecian  heroes." 

The  influence  of  this  memorial  will  be  perennial.  If  a 
foreign  foe  should  ever  again  bring  alarm  to  North  Point, 
or  if  civic  disorder  or  domestic  anarchy  should  disturb  these 
quiet  streets, — the  young  men  of  Baltimore,  trained  in  the 
national  guard  of  the  commonwealth,  and  thus  accustomed 
to  habits  of  obedience,  fortitude  and  concerted  action,  will 
be  inspired  by  the  remembrance  of  the  hero  of  Cowpens,  and 
will  emulate  his  valour. 

Nor  is  that  the  only  influence  radiating  from  Monument 
Square.  We  are  not  all  descended  from  the  heroes  of  the 
Revolution,  nor  can  all  of  us  bear  arms  in  the  defence  of 
liberty  and  law.  A  large  proportion  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Baltimore  are  of  foreign  birth;  the  parents  of  many  more 


COLONEL   JOHN   EAGER   HOWARD       385 

passed  their  childhood  in  distant  lands.  It  is  nobody's  fault 
that  they  did  not  learn  in  the  nursery  to  revere  the  name  of 
Washington  ;  that  to  them  the  burning  of  the  Peggy 
Stewart  has  no  significance;  that  Valley  Forge  awakens 
no  sad  memories,  and  Yorktown  no  exultation;  that  they 
know  not  the  bridge  where  the  embattled  farmers  stood 
who  "  fired  the  shot  heard  round  the  world  " ;  and  that  the 
Cowpens  is  like  a  word  in  an  unknown  tongue.  Shall  I 
say  it  is  their  misfortune?  No,  rather  say  good  fortune 
brought  them  to  a  land  where  civil  and  religious  freedom, 
secured  by  the  wisdom  of  great  statesmen  and  defended  by 
brave  men,  has  produced  conditions  under  which  every  man 
may  worship  God  according  to  his  own  conscience,  every 
child  may  receive  a  public  education,  may  rise  according  to 
his  virtue,  industry,  and  talents,  to  thrift  and  contentment, 
and  be  qualified  to  take  some  part,  if  it  be  only  the  humble 
part  of  a  voter,  in  maintaining  the  principles  of  good  govern- 
ment. As  they  look  upon  the  figure  of  Howard,  let  them 
be  reminded  that  among  his  fellow-soldiers  in  the  War  of 
Independence  were  Montgomery,  the  Irishman;  Kosciusko 
and  Pulaski,  the  Poles;  DeKalb  and  Steuben,  the  Germans; 
Rochambeau  and  Lafayette,  the  Frenchmen;  and  let  them 
determine  that  the  government,  secured  by  such  men,  shall 
receive  from  their  compatriots  in  the  twentieth  century  the 
defence  and  support  which  are  due  to  a  priceless  inheritance. 
We  cannot  be  too  mindful  that  on  education,  morality  and 
religion,  and  on  conscientious  and  self-sacrificing  devotion 
to  the  public  service,  the  State  depends. 

Still  further  gain  may  be  expected  from  the  transactions 
of  this  day.  A  complete  century  has  passed  since  the  man 
whom  we  commemorate  served  his  countrymen  on  the  battle- 
field and  in  the  Senate.  The  entire  country  has  profited 
by  the  exertions  of  Howard  and  his  colleagues,  and  the 
Republic  has  not  been  ungrateful.  Baltimore  is  especially 
indebted  to  him  for  the  gifts  which  secured  to  us  these 


386    THE   LAUNCHING   OF   A   UNIVERSITY 

beautiful  squares  and  the  monument  which  crowns  them; 
and  more  than  this,  for  the  public  spirit  shown  in  his 
devotion  to  the  city  of  his  lifelong  residence,  to  his  native 
State,  and  to  the  national  government  which  he  helped  to 
found.  May  future  generations  admire  his  character  and 
emulate  his  virtues.  They  constitute  "  a  monument  more 
enduring  than  brass."  Gratitude,  perpetual  gratitude,  is  due 
from  us  and  from  our  successors  and  descendants  to  those 
wise  men  among  whom  our  hero  served. 

A  great  orator,  closing  his  tribute  to  one  wHo  was  in  his 
time  the  greatest  American  statesman,  remarks  that  in  the 
relations  of  civilised  life,  there  is  no  higher  service  which 
man  can  render  to  man  than  to  preserve  a  wise  constitutional 
government  in  healthful  action;  and  he  quotes  from  that 
"  admirable  treatise  on  the  Republic  of  which  some  previous 
chapters  have  been  restored  to  us  after  having  been  lost  for 
ages,"  a  sentence  where  Cicero  "  does  not  hesitate  to  affirm 
that  there  is  nothing  in  which  human  virtue  approaches 
nearer  the  divine  than  in  establishing  and  preserving  states," 
— civitates  aut  condere  novas,  aut  conservare  jam  conditas. 

In  our  day,  many  clouds  hang  over  the  skies.  Problems 
of  unprecedented  perplexity  present  themselves  to  the  con- 
sideration of  thoughtful  citizens.  The  student  of  history 
sometimes  wonders  whether  popular  government  will  prove 
adequate  to  the  new  demands.  For  one,  I  believe  that  it  will. 
Already  in  the  most  distant  of  our  possessions  we  have  seen 
the  introduction  of  sound  political  principles  and  methods, 
and  the  most  ancient  of  empires  bears  witness  to  the  concili- 
atory influence  of  American  diplomacy.  This  benign  in- 
fluence will  in  the  long  run  depend  upon  the  action  of  the 
people.  Let  them  keep  informed  of  and  adhere  to  the 
principles  of  the  founders  of  the  Republic;  let  the  example 
and  services  be  forever  cherished  of  those  who  were  the 
friends,  colleagues,  and  co-workers  with  John  Eager  Howard. 


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